The Time Bender
by SmashTrix
Summary: Water…Earth…Fire…Air…Only the Avatar can master all four elements. There is a fifth element, little known to the world: Time. In order for the Avatar to complete his training, he must master Time last. This is my story, the story of the Time bender.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Water…Earth…Fire…Air…Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony, but everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most he vanished.

There is a fifth element, little known to the world: Time. In order for the Avatar to complete his training, he must master Time last. He is taught by a line of women from the future, mother to daughter, element to element.

This is my story, the story of the Time bender.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Western Air Temple**

"What do you make of her?"

"I don't know."

"Another Air bender? We found her floating in the clouds."

"Nah, she looks Fire bender to me."

"Sokka, you think everyone strange is a fire bender."

"I do not!"

"Katara's right, Sokka, you've got to calm down."

"We just lost in our invasion of the Fire Nation, our friends have been sent to prison, and this girl just appears out of nowhere! I will not calm down!"

"Would all of you be quiet? She's waking up!"

These are the voices I hear in my dream. It's a strange dream. There are all these fluffy clouds, and I'm somehow flying through them with four people hovering over me: two girls and two guys. This is possibly the nicest dream I've ever had. Everything's so quiet, except for the four people's bickering.

Suddenly, I feel a splash of water across my face and bolt upright, facing one of the girls. She's wearing some kind of blue, animal skin dress, and her hair is braided down her back, except for two loops which I think are her bangs.

I'm definitely not dreaming anymore.

"Oh good," the girl says in a perky voice, "You're awake!"

"Yeah…" I say slowly. Have I been kidnapped or something? I've never seen this girl before in my life.

Suddenly, one of the guys (same blue animal skins as the girl, except not a dress, and his hair is in a ponytail) grabs me and presses a sword to my throat. "Who are you and what do you want with the Avatar?"

"I—what? What's an Avatar?" I'm totally confused. Plus, it's hard to answer without slicing my throat open.

"Sokka let her go," the other girl says. She's dressed in a pretty green fabric, and her clouded eyes say she's blind. "She's telling the truth!"

"Oh, just like Azula was telling the truth?"

"Sokka, really, this is ridiculous!" the first girl exclaims. "Put her down!"

The boy, Sokka I guess, holds me for a moment more (as if to prove he can) and slowly sets me down. I finally get a good look at my surroundings. The five of us are in a saddle of some kind, and we are flying through the clouds on a huge fuzzy animal.

That's enough to make any city girl freak out.

"What the…?" I whisper. "Where am I?" I ask louder. But then I take another look at their clothes—definitely not from the Gap—and alter my question. "When am I?"

"Just calm down," the girl with the hair loops says. "We're almost to the Western Air Temple, and then we can figure out what's going on."

"Air Temple?" I ask. These people are crazy! Why would they worship _air_? Don't they have gods or something?

"You've never heard of it?" The girl looks confused. "It's one of the last places where the Air Nomads lived before the Fire Nation destroyed all of them."

Air Nomads? Fire Nation? This dream is getting crazier by the minute!

"We're almost there," the second boy pipes up. He can't be more than twelve, but his head is shaved. There's some kind of blue arrow tattoo on his forehead, and he's carrying a stick of wood, which he jerks open. Before I can even blink at him, he leapt off the beast we're on, gliding on his stick-hang-glider thing, towards the ground below.

"Almost where?" I ask. But everyone ignores me. Ponytail boy—Sokka—is busy getting to the head of the animal where I think I see the reins attached to its horns. Hair-Loop girl is speaking soothingly to the blind girl, who looks a little air sick. I'm by myself in my own corner of the saddle. So I take the time to evaluate my situation.

First, I check to see if I'm awake. A pinch tells me yes. Then, I check to see if my body's intact. I shimmy around as best I can without drawing Sokka's attention. My chestnut hair is soaked, my pale-as-paper skin is sure to burn under the sun, and my blue eyes could use some shades, but I'm perfectly okay. Although, I am a touch hungry; that toaster waffle I scarfed down for breakfast just wasn't cutting it. I check my backpack, which is sitting beside me, for some towels to mop up the water that was splashed across my face, but it's totally empty. _Weird_, I think, _that thing was filled with stuff for the pool today_!

"Reaching the ground in 3…2…1!" Sokka calls from the beast's head. I realize what's happening and brace myself at the last second against the shallow walls of the saddle. The animal soon touches down.

"Yeah, we're here!" the blind girl exclaims as soon as her feet touch the ground. "I can feel it!"

"Umm, I think your feet need their eyes checked, Toph," Hair-Loop says gently.

I glance around as I cautiously get off the furry beast. We're at the edge of a cliff, yawning into a vast drop of emptiness.

"No, she's right," the bald kid says. "We are here!"

_Yeah_, I think, _and I'm totally in New York eating a corn dog from a street vendor_.

"Wow, it's amazing!" the blind girl says, sliding her bare feet across the grassy cliff.

Just when I think I've found myself with a bunch of crazies, the bald kid throws a rope over the cliff.

"No," I firmly say. "No way am I going over a cliff to who knows where."

"But the temple—" the bald kid protests.

"Obviously doesn't exist," I snort. "If you wanted to get rid of me so bad, why not just throw me off that furry thing?"

"Who said anything about wanting to get rid of you?" Hair-Loop asks.

"Besides," the blind girl says, "you can't see the temple because it's right under our feet!"

The bald kid backs her up. "Toph's right. The temple hangs from the underside of the cliff."

I raise an eyebrow at him. Are they all nuts?

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, you can fly down on Appa instead of the rope."

"What's an Appa?" I ask, but I'm drowned out by Sokka's complaints.

"Why can't we take Appa down?"

"Just look how tired he is from carrying all of us from the Fire Nation!" The bald boy shouts. "He can barely lift himself up!"

I risk a glance at the animal that brought us here. He looks like a cross between a manatee and a bison I saw at Central Park Zoo, except for the fact that he's approximately the size of my apartment building. Alright, half, but he is huge. He's covered in armor, and he looks dead tired.

The bald boy helps me back onto the beast as everyone else swings down the rope.

"Don't be afraid," he tells me. "Appa is completely safe." The beast roars his agreement.

"Come on, Appa," the bald boy calls from the ground, "yip-yip!"

With a huge leap, the beast leaves the ground behind and soars over the edge of the cliff. I can barely hold in a scream until the temple comes into view. It looks like a bunch of houses from Chinatown were plucked up, turned over, and glued to the underside of the cliff. Of course, they're a lot cleaner than the buildings in Chinatown, and they're all white. I marvel at the sheer number of the buildings, when something catches my eye to the left. I think I see a person dressed in red, but he's gone so quick that I can't be sure.

The flying animal—Appa, I guess—sweeps into the temple with ease, as if it was built to hold his size. Hair-Loop helps me down while Sokka and the bald boy start taking the armor off the furry creature.

"I don't think I've properly introduced myself," she tells me. "I'm Katara, and the boy in the pony tail over there is my brother, Sokka." She looks apologetic. "Sorry about the sword, but we just came from a huge rebellion against the Fire Nation. What's your name?"

Her words swirl in my head. Rebellion? Fire Nation? I feel myself sway a little on my feet.

"I'm Starr," I introduce myself. "Nice to meet you." My mother's southern manners have been instilled in me since I was born, even if I did grow up in the Big Apple.

"Nice to meet you too, Starr," Katara smiles. "That girl over there is Toph, she's an Earth bender. And the boy over there helping Sokka is Aang, the last Air bender and the Avatar. Oh, and I'm a Water bender."

"Avatar?" I ask, mostly to myself. How could he possibly be an avatar? He's not even blue!

"You haven't heard?" Katara looks shocked. "The Avatar's alive! Sure he was frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years, but he's still the same twelve-year-old Air bender."

"What's an avatar?" I ask her, since our definitions seem to be completely different. When I think avatar, I think of the movie that came out a few years ago with all the blue people living in the jungle.

"Wait, you don't know who the Avatar is?" Now she looks really worried.

"Obviously, if I'm asking you," I retort, swaying a little more on my feet. Am I in shock or something?

Next thing I know, I'm falling to the stone ground as everything turns black.


	3. Chapter 3

"So what's the new plan?"

"Well, if you ask me, the new plan is the old plan! You just need to master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes."

_It was all a dream_, I tell myself, _a crazy, insane dream_…

"Oh, great, no problem, I'll just do that."

"Aang, no one said it's gonna be easy."

"Well it's not even going to be possible! Where am I supposed to get a Fire bending teacher?"

_It's a dream, you're just hearing the remnants leaving your head_, I firmly pound the thought into my brain.

"Well, we could always look for Jeong-Jeong."

"Yeah, right, as if we'll ever run into Jeong-Jeong again."

"Who's…? Never mind. If it's important, I'll find out."

_Fire benders? Air temples? That's the stuff of stories for kids, not some weird reality I've been thrown into_…

"Oh well, guess we can't come up with anybody. Why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple?"

The gust of wind on my face is not part of the dream, though. Reluctantly, I open my eyes to discover that it wasn't a dream after all. I was still surrounded by the same strange people.

"We could always get her to teach Aang Fire bending," Sokka waves a hand in my direction. Everyone glances over.

"Oh good," Katara says, "You're awake again."

"Get away from me," I scramble to my feet, ignoring the fuzzy blackness at the edge of my vision.

Katara looks confused, but keeps coming closer.

"I mean it!" I grab my backpack, prepared to make a run for it.

Still, Katara steps toward me, joined by Sokka and Toph. "Please, Starr," Katara pleads. "We want to help you."

A surge of energy wells up and releases itself through my fingertips. "Freeze!" I shout at them. The energy leaves my body, and the fatigue slows me down. I risk a glance at the crazy people; they're frozen in mid-step, with looks of concern on their faces.

I slowly straighten from my lunge, suddenly conscious of the stillness of the air around me. Even the huge flying animal is frozen. I glance out into the vast emptiness of the cliff and see the bald boy—Aang—frozen in mid-swoop of his hang-glider. I risk another glance at the three statues facing me. Then I listen to my gut and bolt.

I run down one of the halls built into the cliff, twisting and turning until I don't even know which tunnel I came from. When I finally stop for breath, I'm at a cross roads of sorts, with six tunnels facing me, and one at my back. I randomly pick the fifth one, which leads to a hall of what I think are bedrooms. I choose the one with no skeletons.

"Oh, my gosh," I collapse onto the mattress. "I have no idea where I am, I'm pretty sure I just froze those people forever but they were my only hope of getting out of here alive and I really want to go back to New York and I have no idea what's going on but I'm pretty sure I was in shock earlier since I was just kind of going along with what everyone says but now I'm who-knows-where in some god-forsaken tunnel and I just want to get out of here!" I sob into my empty backpack, alone.

After a few minutes—or hours since I have no way of keeping time here—I wipe away the tears and manage to sit up. Taking a huge breath, I decide to try and find my way back to the open area where everyone was. I step into the hall and pick the tunnels where the light is brightest. In doing so, I manage to find my way back.

The group of three is still frozen in their place, and the sun hadn't moved at all across the sky, even though I had been inside for a while. I move closer to the three stiffs.

_They're frozen in time_, I hear a voice say. It sounds like my mother's, which is ridiculous; she died in a fire three years ago. _The whole world is stopped_, my mother's voice continues. _All you have to do is trust them, and everything will be released_.

I don't know whether to trust the voice or not, but it's better than nothing. Taking a few deep breaths, I look into their faces and see nothing but kindness and worry. Worry for me, the crazy girl who runs from help and appears in clouds. I smirk at the thought, glad my sarcasm hasn't been lost in this crazy world. Strangely, I find it in myself to trust them; I feel the energy surge through my body again, but calmer now. The energy escaped through my outstretched fingers, a purple spiral scattering into the air, releasing everything from its frozen spell.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Sokka whirls around, drawing his sword. Katara and Toph follow his gaze to me, sitting on one of the stones they had vacated.

"How'd you get over there so fast?" Toph demands, stalking closer to me every second. "I didn't even feel you run!"

"You see this?" Sokka screams at his sister. "Fire bender! She just disappeared before our eyes and winds up behind us?"

"I don't think Starr's a Fire bender, Sokka," Katara moves next to me and inspects the bump on my head.

"Well then what is she?" Toph demands.

"I don't know," Katara consoles, "but I don't think she's dangerous." Katara opens a pouch at her side and water floats out into her outstretched palm. She carefully moves her hands around until they're encased in the beautiful floating water. Katara places one hand on my head bump, and then the water begins to glow. It hurts my eyes, but I keep them open. Sokka stares at his sister slack-jawed, as if she's one hundred percent crazy. The thought crossed my mind, but as soon as Katara removes her hand, the bump is gone.

"Better?" she asks.

"Yeah," I feel my forehead. "Um…thanks."

"No problem," she smiles. Aang swoops back into the courtyard we're all in.

"Come on guys," he smiles. "I want to show you the giant Pai-Sho table. And you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber!"

"I think that'll have to wait," Toph growls and points behind me, a murderous look on her face.

Everybody turns around to see what—or rather who—she's pointing at. He's a teenager, about my age, with shaggy black hair and a thin face. His left eye is scarred red, and he's dressed all in red. My mind flashes back to the figure I saw when I first rode into the temple. Up close, the guy is sort of hot. Like, Taylor Launter mixed with Alex Watson, with a dash of Ryan Reynolds.

But everyone else is looking at him like he's the enemy.

"Hello," He says with a small smile, raising his hand in a greeting. "Zuko here."


	4. Chapter 4

Everybody leaps into a battle stance. Stunned, I stay on my rock and watch it all unfold.

"Hey, I heard you flying around down there, so I just thought I'd wait for you here," he explains. He seems unsure of himself, especially when Appa ambles over and gives him a huge lick with his enormous tongue.

Aang half rises from his battle lunge, an expression of wonder and confusion on his face.

"I know you must be surprised to see me here," Zuko continues.

"Not really," Sokka interjects, "since you followed us all over the world."

"Right," Zuko grudgingly admits. "Well, uh, anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed. And I, uh, I'm good now and I think I should join your group. Oh, and I can teach Fire bending," he looks right at Aang, "to you. See I, uh—"

"You wanna what now?" Toph interrupts.

"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?" Katara accuses. "How stupid do you think we are?" _Ouch_, I think, _that's harsh_.

"Yeah!" Sokka agrees. "All you've ever done is tried to hunt us down and capture Aang."

"I've done some good things!" Zuko retorts. "I mean, I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something!" Appa responded with another lick. I continue to drool over this guy's face, whilst being confused about the whole conversation around me.

"Appa does seem to like him," Toph mentions to our group.

"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it," Sokka loudly responds. Despite their unfriendly attitude towards the guy, they've dropped their battle stances.

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me," Zuko responds, "and I know I've made some mistakes in the past."

"Like when you attacked our village?" Sokka accuses.

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?" Katara added.

"Look," Zuko pleads, "I admit I've done some awful things. It was wrong to try to capture you, and I'm sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I'm gonna try to stop him—"

"Wait," Sokka explodes, pointing his boomerang at him, "you sent Combustion-Man after us?"

"Well, that's not his name, but—"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to insult your friend," Sokka mocks.

"He's not my friend!"

"That guy locked me and Katara in a jail and tried to blow us all up!" Toph exclaims.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Zuko asks Aang. I'm partly hidden by Katara's skirt. "You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me."

He sounds earnest. Why won't they let him stay with us, at least for a few nights? If he tried anything, he wouldn't even make it to the next sunrise. Katara, Sokka, and Toph look absolutely murderous.

Aang glances at us and his face hardens. "There's no way we can trust you after everything that you've done," the kid decides, his voice cold as ice. "We'll never let you join us."

"You need to get out of here," Katara demands. "Now!"

"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!" Zuko throws up his hands in frustration.

"Either you leave, or we attack," Sokka threatens.

He takes a step closer, as if to plead with us more. But the water Katara had just used to heal my head suddenly whips out and soaks Zuko, knocking him to the ground

"Get out of here and don't come back," she growls.

Zuko looks at each of us, his gaze lingering on me. After a moment of thought, he rises and shuffles away.

After we're sure he's gone, Katara asks, "Why would he try to fool us like that?"

"Obviously he wants to lead us into some kind of trap," Sokka answers. I roll my eyes, but stay on my rock.

"This is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se," Katara grumbles. "He starts talking about his mother, making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings."

"He wants you to trust him," Sokka tells her, "and feel sorry for him so you'll let your guard down, then he strikes!"

"The thing is, it worked," Katara admits. "I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt. But, obviously, when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price. We can't trust him." She says the last part almost to herself.

"Wow, tell us how you really feel," I comment.

"I kind of have a confession to make," Aang announces. "Remember when you two were sick and I was captured by Zhao?"

"And then you made us suck on frozen frogs?" Sokka grimaces. "How could I forget?"

"Anyway, when Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me."

"No way," Katara retorts, "surely he only did it so he could capture you himself."

"Yeah, face it Aang," Sokka agrees. "You're nothing but a big prize to him."

Aang hangs his head. "You're probably right," he mumbles.

"And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free?" Katara adds to her argument. "What a liar!"

"Actually, he wasn't lying," Toph calls from her spot against the wall.

Sokka looks about ready to burst. "Well, hooray! In a life time of evil, at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list."

"I'm just saying that considering his messed up family and how he was raised, he could've turned out a lot worse."

"You're right Toph, let's go find him and give him a medal," Katara's sarcasm matches her brother's. "The 'Not as much of a jerk as you could've been' award!"

"All I know is, while he was talking to us, he was sincere."

"Maybe you're just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly," I pipe up. I glance at Toph, and she nods her approval.

"Easy for you to say!" Katara turns her rage on me. "You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates!"

"Or when he burned down Kiyoshi Island!"

"Or when he tried to capture me at the fire temple!"

"You don't know him. Why would you even try to defend him, Starr?" Katara exclaims.

I roll my eyes again and remember what Zuko said about teaching Aang. "Because, Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact! Aang needs a Fire bending teacher (whatever that is) and you can't think of anyone in the world to do the job. Now one comes to us on a gorgeous silver platter and you won't even think about it?" I actually stomp my foot to emphasize my point.

They all look at each other as what I said sinks in.

"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher," Aang breaks the silence.

"Darn right you're not, buddy," Sokka agrees.

"Well, I guess that's settled," Katara bosses us.

"Ugh!" Toph groans. "I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here!" She stalks away to where Zuko was headed.

I look at the trio, and I shake my head. How on earth was I going to even try to find my way back home if I couldn't even convince them to see things my way?


	5. Chapter 5

"So what's the deal with you guys and Scar-guy anyway?" I ask Katara as we try to start a fire for dinner.

"Zuko?" she replies as she dries out the twigs. I nod. "He's basically been chasing after us for about six months, ever since Sokka and I found Aang in an iceberg in the South Pole. He nearly destroyed my village." The water she had been extracting begins to simmer. "He's followed us throughout the entire world even to places where we were sure would be safe. But somehow, he always found us and tried to capture Aang.

"We managed to evade him, but soon he stopped showing up at every turn. We thought we had finally lost him, but he was replaced by his sister, Azula. She was worse, way worse, than Zuko had ever been. She was a Fire bending master, and she could bend lightning. Azula managed to kill Aang in Ba Sing Se."

"Kill him?" I glanced over at Aang and Sokka, who were running through the temple. "But he's…"

"I managed to revive him with water from the moon spirit's North Pole sanctuary," Katara explains as the water she carefully threw into a bowl now begins to boil. "But at Ba Sing Se, I was captured with him beneath the city. We had a deep conversation, and I thought he had finally turned around." Her eyes flashed. "But when the time came to fight, he sided with his sister. That's when she shot a bolt of lightning at Aang. And to think, I was going to use that spiritual water on his scar!"

The water in the bowl was now slopping over the side. I move to settle the water, but it splashes me, burning my hand.

"Here, let me help," Katara soothes my choice words of pain. The water that burned me soon rises up to Katara's outstretched hands and begins to glow. Before I can protest, she locks her glowing, water-oven-mitted hands around mine in a death grip. The water, instead of being scalding, is cool and before my very eyes, I can see my burns quickly healing back to smooth skin.

"All better?" Katara asks as she goes back to bending water from the fire wood.

I give my head a shake to clear it, still staring in wonder at my hand. "This whole bending thing creeps me out."

"You've never seen a bender before? But they're all over! Earth, Fire and Water, though Aang is the only Air bender…"

"Where I'm from, there are no benders."

"A Fire Nation colony?"

"What the hell is a fire nation?" I scoff. "Back home, there are at least a hundred different elements, not four. And nobody could magically bend it to their will."

Katara brushes her hands and retrieves a fire starter from her bag. It's not so much a fire starter as it is a rock and some weird stone she begins striking together over our measly camp fire. "Well here, bending is all over. The Northern and Southern Water Tribes have Water benders, but I'm the only one from the South Pole."

"North and south poles?" I rub my temples. This is giving me a headache. "Nobody lives there, and isn't the North Pole melting because of global warming or something?"

"I wouldn't say nobody lives at the South Pole, but it's pretty small. The North pole, though…it's huge! I think it's about the size of Ba Sing Se."

"What's Ba Sing Se?"

"It's the capital of the Earth Kingdom. The Earth benders are spread over the whole world. The Fire benders tried to take the capital, but Aang and our group showed up and put a stop to that.

"The Fire Nation is mainly settled in the south western part of the world, and they produce the Fire benders. They're the only ones able to actually produce their element from thin air, but then the rest of us have it everywhere."

"Wait, these guys can just make fire? From nothing?"

"I know, it would come in really handy right about now, but the Fire Nation launched a war against the world one hundred years ago. The Fire Lord wanted to rule over everything. The one who started it, Fire Lord Sozin, completely wiped out the Air Nomads."

I take the rocks from her and try starting the fire myself. "Then how did Aang survive?"

"He was trapped in an iceberg near the south pole for a century. That's where Sokka and I found him. But he's the last Air bender, the only person in the world who can control the air around us. That's why Zuko has been chasing us for so long, because the Avatar was born into the Air Nomads after Avatar Roku died."

"I'm guessing my definition of avatar and yours doesn't match up." I finally manage a spark and set a leaf on fire. I grab a nearby stick and push it closer to the twigs.

Katara laughs. "If you don't have bending where you come from, then I'm sure you've never heard of the Avatar. He's the master of all four of the elements. The cycle goes from Fire to Air to Water to Earth. Those are the nations he's born into when the last Avatar dies."

I blow on the flickering flame and it erupts into a roaring fire. Katara and I stumble back to avoid the heat and are joined by Sokka and Aang. Before long, we have a piping hot dinner of foods I've never heard of, but taste oddly delicious. We all soon feel tired and Aang leads us to rooms left over by the monks who used to live in the temple. Even before my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Katara starts a fire and cooks us a breakfast of rice in a clay pot.

"Has anyone seen Toph?" she asks us.

"I haven't seen her since she stormed off yesterday," Sokka replies.

"I think we should go look for her," Katara murmurs.

"Ah, let her have fun with her rocks," Sokka waves the question away. "I'm in no rush to have her and the new girl yelling at us again."

"I have a name!" I swat Sokka on the arm.

Suddenly, the ground rumbles and a hole appears in one of the walls of the temple. With a grunt, Toph army-crawls out of it and down the slope of earth she's pushed out.

"Toph," Katara exclaims, "what happened?"

"My feet got burned!" Toph explains, her red feet sticking up behind her.

Katara moves closer to get a good look at the damage. "Oh, no!" she exclaims again. "What happened?"

"I just told you," Toph growled, "My feet got burned!"

I laugh behind my hand at her humor.

Katara glares. "I meant how."

"Well, I kind of went to see Zuko last night."

The rest of the group responds with groans of disgust. Katara opens her pouch and releases the floating water again, which begins glowing as she tries to heal Toph's feet.

"I just thought he could be helpful to us," Toph defends herself, "and if I talk to him, maybe we could work something out."

"So he attacked you?" Sokka asks.

"Well, he did and he didn't," Toph bites her lower lip. "It was sort of an accident."

"But he did Fire bend at you?" Aang persists.

Toph sighs in defeat. "Yes."

"See?" Sokka says as I help Katara lift Toph to the fountain. "You trusted Zuko and you got burned. Literally!"

"It's gonna take a while for your feet to get better," Katara tells Toph, ignoring her brother. "I wish I could've worked on them sooner."

"You and me both," Toph agrees.

I look into the clear fountain water to see the ugly burn marks on her feet. If Zuko really meant to attack Toph, wouldn't he have burned her whole body?

"Zuko's clearly too dangerous to be left alone," Sokka decides. "We're gonna have to go after him."

"I hate to go looking for a fight, but you're right," Aang agrees. "After what he did to Toph, I don't think we have a choice."

"He's crafty, but we'll find a way to capture him." Sokka assures himself.

"And stoop to his level?" I retort. I had gotten the crash course in the four elements and the group's history with Zuko last night after Toph had left. I still don't agree with them, but it puts their arguments in perspective. "Would you really want to do that?"

"If it keeps us safe, then yes," Sokka fires back.

Katara continues to work on Toph's burns.

"Now I know how the rest of you guys feel," Toph groans through the pain of the healing. "Not being able to see with your feet stinks!"

I feel someone staring, an ability I've tuned over my 17 years, and glance up into the crags of the cliff. Not a second too late, I shout, "Hit the deck!" An explosion rocks the entire temple. As we hurry to get out of sight, I see Zuko swing into the bulky man on a rope.

"Stop!" we hear Zuko shout at the assassin. "I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore! The mission is off; I'm ordering you to stop." The muscled man throws Zuko aside like a rag doll, and aims another shot at us. I see Zuko throw a flaming ball of fire at the man, but he easily deflects it. Again Zuko is cast aside as another explosion hits us. The explosion makes contact with the stone and a piece hits me squarely in the forehead. The last thing I think as everything fades to black once more is that I should really stop passing out so often.


	7. Chapter 7

Once again, I wake up to a splash of water, this time all over my body. Sputtering and choking, I sit up, and face my group.

They're facing Zuko again.

"Thank you for letting me join your group," Zuko says.

"Not so fast," Aang says, "I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them."

Aang faces us in the remains of the temple. Toph is propped up on a pile of rocks, Katara's leaning over my soaked body, and Sokka's standing with his arms crossed.

"Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned," Aang asks the Earth bender. "What do you think?"

"Go ahead, let him join," Toph votes with a smile. "It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet."

I slowly put the pieces together in my head. Zuko must've done something to gain the trust of the foursome, and now everyone's voting on letting him stay.

"Sokka?" Aang asks.

Sokka slowly uncrossed his arms. "Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then I'm all for it."

"Katara?"

Katara still looks angry. "I'll go along with whatever you think is right," She grudgingly agrees.

"Starr? I know you're new, but you still have a vote"

I glance up at Zuko's sweating face, which is much more attractive than me at the moment—I'm soaked head to toe! "Personally, I have nothing against him. All I have to go on are his actions while I've been here and your word. I say let him join."

"Thank you so much," Zuko exclaims. "I promise I won't let you down!"

The moment is kind of ruined when everyone but me leaves, though. Shaking my wet head, I gingerly get up checking for broken bones. I seem to be intact.

"Come on," I say to the new guy. "I'll show you to your place."

We had all picked rooms last night in the hall I found with the bedrooms. Aang Air bended all of the skeletons away, but I still chose the room I ran to.

"Thank you again for choosing in my favor," Zuko says as we walk through the tunnels.

"Like I said," I stepped over a skeleton, "I have absolutely nothing against you. If anything, my thoughts are in your favor since the rest of them were being so pig-headed."

He laughs. "So, I don't remember you from before. Are you new to the group?"

"Kind of," I think of how to word it. Katara had told me the story of how they found me, but I'm still having trouble putting it together. "Apparently I was floating in the clouds as they escaped the Fire Nation. I was unconscious, so they took me in. And here I am." There's water in my shoes. It squishes as I walk. I'm gonna have to borrow clothes from Katara. And I hate dresses.

"That's pretty interesting," Zuko muses. "Can you bend any of the elements?"

I shake my head. "They tested my last night. They tried Air and Water—nothing. They did their best to try Earth, but Toph wasn't there to really test me. And Katara didn't even want to try Fire."

We walk in silence the rest of the way to one of the empty rooms.

"Here you go," I say to him. "Home sweet home."

"Thanks again," Zuko bows to me. The whole bow thing still confuses me, but I kind of nod my head as I back out of the room.

"My room is right across the hall if you need anything," I mention on my way out. I can't be sure, but I think he gave me a genuine smile as I turn to leave.

"Wait," he calls out. "I never got your name."

I smile. "I am Starr."


	8. Chapter 8

**The First Night**

As I fall asleep that night, all I can think about is how itchy Katara's spare dress is. I mean, how can she move, let alone bend, in this thing? My own clothes were soaked through from when Katara sent a stream of water over the edge of the temple when I unconsciously rolled off. Wet jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie weren't my choice for pajamas, though, so I'm glad Katara had something extra. Even if I do hate dresses and skirts with a passion.

As soon as I fall asleep, I dream of the voice from yesterday, the one that led me through making my newfound friends mobile again. The voice soon embodies itself in my mother. As the setting falls into place around her, I find that we are on the beach. It's the beach from our last vacation to California, but there aren't any tourists or squawking seagulls. It's just me and my mother.

"Starr," she calls, opening her arms for a hug.

I run and nearly crush her with the force of my squeeze. "Mom," I sob. "I miss you so much."

"I know, my dear," she responds, tears in her eyes. "I've missed you too. But this isn't about me. This dream is about you, and your purpose with the Avatar."

I wipe away my tears. "You know about the Avatar?"

She smiles. "Sweetheart, I _trained_ the previous Avatar." She throws out an arm to the sparkling Pacific, and it immediately freezes. She motions to the sea again, and it moves back into motion, but slowly, as if it were molasses. With another motion, the waves move faster than I've ever seen. Then, my mother brings her arms to her sides and the ocean returns to normal.

I am confused. Aang already has a teacher for all four elements. "You're a Water bender?"

"Starr," she says to me seriously, "ours is a family of time benders. This gift has been passed from my mother to me, and now me to you. We are forced to travel back through time when the Spirits believe the Avatar is ready to learn time bending."

"I can bend…time?" I try to wrap my brain around that one.

"Yes," My mother smiles again. "You are the only Time bender where you are now. Time bending has been kept a secret for thousands of years, to give the Avatar the edge he needs to fulfill his duty to the world."

"It that how I froze everything yesterday?"

"Yes. Your subconscious felt that you were in danger, so you stopped time and gave yourself a chance to escape."

"And then…you helped me put everything in motion again," I hug my mother again.

"Because just as with the Avatar, the Spirits of all previous time benders live within you," My mother pointed to my heart. "Now, we have a lot of work to do, and only a short time to do it. Let's get to work."

My mother proceeds to show me all the maneuvers of time bending: how to fast forward, rewind, stop, and slow time; how to heal cuts and injuries in people; how to travel through time; even how to properly use my backpack.

"Every time bender is given a link to her own time. Your backpack will provide you with what you need on your journey, whether it is clothes, food, or shelter."

She shows me so many things I think my head will explode. Too soon, however, she's fading away.

"Be warned, Starr, that when the Spirits believe your task is done, you will be pulled back to the future, with no bending abilities and no memory of what has happened."

Before I can ask her anything more, the dream changes to one of my normal ones. It should properly be called a nightmare.


	9. Chapter 9

I wake up to screaming, and discover that it's my own. Zuko is shaking me to wake up. He sleeps without a shirt, so I get a nice look at his well-defined upper body muscles.

"Are you okay?" he asks, handing me a cup of water.

I sit up on the bed, adjusting my pillow. "Yeah," I answer after I take a drink, "just a nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

I close my eyes for a moment and think back to the waves crashing down on me, the earth trying to swallow me, the air alternately suffocating then leaving me. The only thing that felt safe was the warm flames through the attack of the other elements.

"Here," Zuko hands me a towel to mop up my sweat.

"Where did you get that?" I ask, but take it anyway. It's soon soaked through.

"From your pack," he explained. "I hope you don't mind."

I think back to the dream with my mother. What had she said about my backpack? I snatch it from Zuko's hands and search through it. There are dry clothes, fresh food, and water bottles galore. I yank out my favorite pajama pants and a fresh shirt. I could almost cry with relief. No more itchy dresses!

"I thought that was empty earlier?" Zuko asks.

I smile, think back to what my mother had told me. "It was," I tell him. "But it's filled now because it's my link to my world." He looks confused, so I explain further. "I'm a Time bender. I have to teach Aang how to Time bend after he masters Fire, and this backpack gives me what I need from my time. I'm from the future." I'm almost giddy with the knowledge. I'm not insane! I'm supposed to be here!

"So you can freeze time?" Zuko asks, mulling something over in his mind.

"Yes," I think back to yesterday. "I accidentally did it when we first arrived at the temple, because I was afraid."

Zuko says something under his breath.

"What?" I ask.

"It's just that…time stopped for me, too. I was thinking about what to say to your group, and then the fire and the stream just…stopped."

That doesn't make any sense. If I had stopped time, why wouldn't Zuko have frozen? I should've been all alone…

"And just now, when I came in to wake you, Katara was frozen in the hall, running to see what was wrong."

"What?" I'm frazzled. "Time is stopped _now_?"

"Yes," he says, "I thought you knew."

"But you didn't freeze this time either," I mutter, almost to myself. I quickly move my arms and that purple mist settled over everything again as Katara burst into my room.

"Is everything okay?" She had her water floating in front of her, but when she sees that I'm okay, she puts it back in the pouch. "Oh, it's just Zuko."

"Are they attacking?" Sokka crashes into his sister, boomerang ablaze, still half asleep. Aang is close behind.

"I heard you screaming," he says to me. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," I tell everyone, "just a crazy dream."

Suddenly, my backpack feels warm and a distinct smell is coming from it. "No way," I breathe. I reach in, and sure enough, there are BigMacs, enough for the whole group.

"More than fine," I say with a smile. "How do you feel about a late night snack?" I hold up the yellow wrappers for the whole group to see.

"No way!" Sokka grabs one. "You had meat and didn't offer it to any of us earlier?"

I pass the rest of the burgers around to everyone, including a VeggieMac for Aang. I quickly tell them about my dream with my mom and just what I'm doing here.

"Oh great," Sokka groans around his third BigMacs, "just another element for you to master."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Aang retorts. "I can learn Time bending at the same time as Fire bending."

"Are you sure you'd want to do that?" Zuko asks, but Katara speaks over him.

"And besides," Katara adds, "the comet is still two months away."

Sokka yawn and throws his wrapper in the trash can I pulled out from my bag (I don't even know how it fit in there). "Whatever," he says, "as long as we can end this war by the comet. Night, you guys, I'm going to bed." With a half wave, he left, taking two BigMacs for Toph.

"I think I'll be getting back to sleep too," Katara agrees. "Are you sure you're okay, Starr?"

"Yeah," I smile at her. "All better."

As soon as she's out of earshot, Aang bombards me with questions about Time bending. I soon realize that even though he's supposed to save the world, he's still a kid. A kid who never really got to live his life.

Soon enough, he's yawning and backing out the door, still asking questions. Eventually, he leaves Zuko and me alone once more.

Just as he gets up to leave, I grab his arm. "Thanks," I tell him.

"For what?"

"For waking me up. It was kind of nice to not experience the end for once."

"Don't your parents wake you up at home? Surely they can't sleep through the noise."

I bite my lip as Zuko sits back down on the bed. "My mom died three years ago," I say quietly. "And then my dad kind of fell apart. He used to wake me up, but soon he got tired of it. He started sleeping with earplugs to tune me out."

"I'm so sorry," Zuko says. "I lost my mother too. About six years ago. I don't know what happened to her, or even if she's still alive."

I give his arm a squeeze. "That's worse than mine." We sit in silence for a moment. I finger my pajamas gathered in a heap on my lap. "Would you mind leaving for a sec while I change?" I awkwardly blurt. Sure it's an odd time to ask him to, but this dress is driving me bananas.

"No problem." He avoids my eye as he stands outside the door, but I can hear his quiet crying just outside.

I quickly throw Katara's dress into a corner and pull on my own clothes. As I'm enjoying the feel of actual cotton on my skin, I rifle through my backpack. I find my iPod, which is a relief. If I set the sleep timer and fall asleep to the music, the nightmares tend to stay away. I motion to Zuko that he can come in again.

"So what happened?" I ask motioning to the scar covering his eye. "Sounds like a twisted story there."

He smiles. "It is kind of twisted, especially when you throw in everything from the time I got it until now." He's quiet for a moment as he gathers his thoughts.

Then he begins his tale.

"I was—or I am—the crowned prince of the Fire Nation. My father is the Fire Lord, and my younger sister, Azula, is the princess. My father was in a war meeting with his generals, so I asked if I could join in. It was about a year ago, when I was sixteen." He blinks as he says the words, as if amazed how many things could change in a year. "At the meeting, one of the generals' strategies was to sacrifice a new band of recruits, many of them my friends. I spoke out of turn against the general. That's forbidden in the Fire Nation. My father sentenced me to an Agni Kai."

"What's an Agni Kai?" I ask as he pauses.

"It's like a duel between Fire benders. Usually to the death or until one person forfeits. I thought I was going to have to duel the general, but when I turned around, it was my father facing me. I immediately begged for forgiveness." He paused again.

"And…?"

Zuko's tears are coming again. "And he would have none of it. He commanded me to stand and fight. He said I was dishonoring my family and myself. When I still didn't stand, he decided I should be taught a permanent lesson."

"He burned you?" I asked incredulously. "His own son? But you were only sixteen!"

"And he is the Fire Lord," Zuko falters. "His word is law."

"So how'd you wind up out here and not in the Fire Nation?" I ask through another silence.

"After my father burned me, he banished me from the Fire Nation until I captured the Avatar. He thought I would be gone forever, since the Avatar hadn't been seen in over 100 years. Ever since then, it was mission to track Aang down.

"But my father decided I was taking too long. He sent my sister out to capture the Avatar, and me as well. He thought I had dishonored the Fire Nation again by not being able to capture a mere boy. One of my sister's guards let it slip to my uncle, who was traveling with me, that we were prisoners, not being welcomed home like Azula wanted us to think. My uncle and I barely escaped. From then on, we were on the run from our own family.

"We were beggars in every town we passed through, until we reached Ba Sing Se. There, my uncle's tea had made him famous, so we were invited to live amongst the nobles in our own tea shop. Soon, though, I was arrested and sent to an underground prison with Katara.

"I was confused, but when the time came to fight, I sided with Azula, hoping for one last shot to make it home and earn my honor back from my father. Azula blasted Aang with her lightning bolt, and we were welcomed home as heroes. My father finally spoke to me again, and I thought I had my life back. My honor, my father's respect, even my friends.

"But then my father invited me to another war meeting. It was about Sozin's Comet, and what they were going to do with the attack. I had changed so much by then that I couldn't stand by while my father slaughtered innocent, good people. After the meeting, I wrote a letter to my girlfriend, Mai, that I was leaving the Fire Nation."

"That must've been so hard," I whisper. "You left your whole life behind."

Zuko chuckles. "But this one is better so far. I can say what I want, do what I want, no people telling me how to behave or what to do when. It's relaxing."

"It can be," I admit. I think back to my own father. After mom died in the fire, he fell apart. I became responsible for everything except the bills, which he somehow managed to pay with his job as a janitor at the local hospital. I had to get food when we ran low, clean the house when it came to be a pig sty, and manage to keep my grades up. The only way I was getting into NYC was through a scholarship at that point. "But it can be a burden too."

Zuko and I stay up into the morning, talking about everything. I show him my iPod and how it plays music, but he shies away from the rap, leaning more towards the ballads. He shows me his Fire bending, and a painting of his mother, his only sentimental object he took when he left. I start to ask about his girlfriend (Were they done? Was he over her?), but the look in his eyes tells me everything: they're done, but he still felt protective of her.

When I finally begin to feel sleepy, it's five in the morning—according to my iPod. But we're so wrapped up in our conversation that we don't even say good night. We keep talking until I drift off on his shoulder.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Bending Masters**

Katara, Toph, Sokka, and I gather in the courtyard to watch Zuko give Aang his first Fire bending lesson. We were instructed to remain as silent as possible, but Katara couldn't help making snide comments.

"A little harsh, don't you think? I mean, telling Aang that Fire is nothing to fear, but it'll get out of control if he doesn't respect it?" she sniffs. "Not the technique I used to teach him Water."

"Show me what you've got," Zuko tells Aang. "Any amount of Fire that you can make."

Aang firmly shoves his hand toward the edge of the temple, but only a puff of smoke appears. "Maybe I need a little more instruction," he says in defeat. "Perhaps a demonstration?"

Zuko nods and motions for us to take a few steps back. He gives me a quick smile as he prepares to shoot fire. But, all that appears from his powerful thrust is a tiny ball of flame.

"What was that?" Zuko exclaims as Aang quietly applauds. "That was the worst Fire bending I've ever seen!"

"And he's the worst teacher I've ever seen," Katara mutters under her breath.

"I thought it was…nice," Aang compliments. "Maybe it's the altitude?"

"Maybe," Zuko agrees, but he doesn't seem convinced.

I stay, but the rest of the group leaves to prepare lunch. Zuko continues to try to create a flaming ball of fire, but to no avail. "Why isn't this working?" he finally shouts to the skies. He's been trying for the past two hours. I've been listening to my iPod, but strangely, the battery hasn't run out at all.

An idea sparks in my mind.

"What if your fire has no fuel?" I call out to him, taking out my ear buds.

"What?" he snaps.

"You know fuel," I look from Zuko's face to Aang's, but both look confused. "To start a fire without bending, you need fuel to keep it going. Like wood or oil of some sort. Maybe the fuel for Fire benders now is their anger, but what was their fuel before the war?"

Zuko's face lights up a bit. "The dragons," he says, "were the first Fire benders. Legend says that we learned Fire bending from them."

"Well, no problem!" Aang exclaims. "We'll just find a dragon to teach us the original way to Fire bend."

I have to run his words through my head twice before I realize that he's not being sarcastic.

"But the dragons were wiped out by my family," Zuko's face falls. "We turned it into a prize. If you were able to defeat a dragon, then you were really a true Fire bender. My uncle said he killed the last one years ago."

"There must be someplace you can go," I think out loud.


	11. Chapter 11

Later, while we're eating a dinner of noodles and sauce from my bag, Zuko approaches our group. He had been avoiding us since his failed attempt at a lesson.

"Listen everybody," he calls, "I've got some pretty bad news. I think I've lost my Fire bending. It's gone."

Katara giggles into her hand. Honestly, what is wrong with her? Everyone turns to look at the source of laughter.

"I'm sorry," Katara snorts, not sounding sorry at all. "I'm just laughing at the irony. You know how it would have been nice for us if you had lost your Fire bending a long time ago?"

"Well it's not lost," Zuko amends his earlier statement. "It's just weaker for some reason."

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are," Katara sneers.

"Ouch," Toph comments.

Zuko thinks for a moment. "I bet it's because I changed sides."

"That's ridiculous," the Water bender scoffs.

"I don't know," Aang says. "Maybe it isn't. Maybe your Fire bending comes from rage. And you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to, like Starr was saying earlier."

"So," Sokka smiles, "all we have to do is make Zuko angry!" He starts poking Zuko with Aang's staff.

"Okay, cut it out!" Zuko shouts. He sits on a rock next to me and begins eating his pasta. "Look, maybe you're right, but I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"You're going to have to draw your Fire bending from another source," Toph states. "I recommend the original source. That's where I learned my Earth bending: from the badger-moles."

"The dragons are the original source for Fire benders," I muse, "I mean, were. But Zuko said that they're all extinct now."

"Maybe there's another way," Zuko says. "They say that the first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors."

"Sun Warriors?" we all ask.

"They died off thousands of years ago," Zuko tells us. "But their civilization isn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins."

"So…what?" Sokka asks. "Maybe you'll pick some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?"

"More or less," Zuko answers. "Either I need to find a new way to Fire bend, or the Avatar needs to find a new teacher."


	12. Chapter 12

Zuko and Aang leave the next morning on Appa to find the civilization of the Sun Warriors. I loaded them down with plenty of food and water bottles—after first showing Zuko how to open one. When they become just a speck in the distance, I turn around and begin helping Katara to straighten up the temple.

My nightmares attacked me that night, even with my good playlist lulling me to sleep. Nobody came running, except for Momo, Aang's flying lemur pet. I guess everybody had learned to leave me alone when I have bad dreams. For some reason, my mother keeps appearing just out of reach, telling me to learn and control the elements. I remember her saying that I have the ability to bend all five of them—Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Time—for protection and disguise.

"You know, Starr, if you're supposed to be able to bend all the elements," Katara mentions the next morning, "why don't I show you some Water bending? It could be useful in battle, and it just might keep these nightmares away."

"And I could show you some Earth bending techniques," Toph adds with a smirk. "That way I'll have practice against two competent people instead of just Twinkle-Toes."

I grin. "That sounds awesome."

I lead Katara to a nearby lake and she begins. "Water bending is about moving with, not against the water. We get our energy from the moon and ocean Spirits."

Katara starts me off easy with the push and pull of water in the lake. For a second, I think I have it, but Katara points out that it's just the natural ebb and flow of the lake.

"That's okay, Starr," she pats my shoulder. "That took me days to get right. Here, try this…"

But each move she gives me I only barely grasp. It seems almost as though my bending is repelling this new, alien medium. Katara's bending is much smoother than mine; I have a tendency to boil the water whenever I try, or it freezes and explodes. But eventually (and by that I mean nearly 5 hours of practice) I have the basics, and according to Katara, that's all I need.

When she deemed that I knew just enough to protect myself in a fight, she turned me over to Toph.

"Whatever Katara told you about Water bending, Earth is a hundred times more powerful. Earth provides us a place to live, food, and shelter. Without Earth, we would be swimming in the Sugar Queen's domain."

"Sugar Queen?" I laugh.

"My own personal nick-name for Katara. Anyway, enough with the big speech. Earth bending is all about feeling where you are and using that for energy." She stomps her foot and a chair appears behind her from the soil. "You try."

Feeling silly, I give my foot a stomp. Nothing happens.

"Feel your foot pushing into the Earth," Toph instructs. "Send the message with your energy to shape the Earth to your will."

This time, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I push my foot into the soil, and imagine the force sending a shock through the ground to push upward behind me.

"You did it!" Toph cheers.

I sit in my throne-like dirt chair, feeling quite proud of myself. "I suppose I did."

Toph's lesson went much better than Katara's. I was able to get a handle on Earth bending in about 15 minutes, and we spent the next hour fine-tuning my technique.

"There's no stopping you in a fight," Toph comments. "Remember the rocks are yours to control, or else they just listen to gravity. And gravity is stupid and can't tell them to do fun tricks."


	13. Chapter 13

Zuko and Aang finally return, two whole days after they had left, but they were in much better spirits. Zuko had gotten his Fire bending back, and from the original source too.

"My uncle lied about killing the last dragon," he tells me as I hug him. "There are still two of them alive with the Sun Warriors. They showed me the way."

He and Aang proceed to demonstrate their new technique. It looks like a dance duet, filled with punches, thrusts, and ending with their outstretched fists touching each other's.

"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there," Sokka jokes.

"It's not a dance," Zuko retorts. "It's a Fire bending form."

"We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord," Sokka wasn't giving up.

"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!" Zuko argues.

Katara was catching onto her brother's spirit. "Oh yeah? What's your little form called?"

Zuko turns an interesting shade of pink. "The 'Dancing Dragon,'" he mutters.


	14. Chapter 14

"So, you want to learn some Fire bending techniques?" says Zuko.

I smile. "I've learned a little Water and Earth, so it seems like the logical thing to do."

Zuko takes a stance and I follow his lead.

"Fire bending comes from within, from your emotions," he says. "You need to think of a strong memory, or a strong emotion. Let it fill you up, and release it through your hand as…fire."

He shoots a tiny ball of light from his palm over the edge of the building. I look over and watch it until it fizzles out.

"Kind of like a Patronus charm," I say to myself.

"What?"

"Sorry, Harry Potter reference. A story from my time," I laugh. "Fire bending just seems similar, is all."

Zuko gives me a weird look.

"So just let the emotion fill you up, and…"I shoot a wall of flames from my palm, nearly incinerating the roof of the temple.

"Whoa, slow down there!" Zuko shouts. I bend some water from the fountain to put it out.

"That must've been some memory," Zuko brushes his hair back from his face.

I shake my head. "It really wasn't. I actually was trying to think of a good one and…that happened by mistake."

Zuko's eyes widen. "That's pretty surprising for your first time, especially without any solid focus."

I send another—smaller—blast from my palm. It's more direct and sails over the balcony before fizzling out.

"You're telling me."

"You just seem to have a talent for this. Did the other elements come easily to you?"

I shake my head. "Not really. It took me hours to get Water, and I can still only to a little Earth. I haven't even tried Air yet."

Aang walks up. "Maybe Fire's your natural element."

"That's crazy, I'm a Time bender," I say.

Zuko shrugs. "It makes sense. Maybe you just have one element that's better than the rest. You said it took forever to get Water, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's like me trying to learn Earth!" Aang says. "It's the most opposite to me, so it was harder."

"And I'm guessing Air came easily to you because it most matched your personality?" I ask.

Aang nods.

I look at my hand, bringing a little ball of Fire to light in the center.

"Hmm, a Fire bender. I could see that."


	15. Chapter 15

**The Boiling Rock**

Over the next two weeks, we settled into an unofficial schedule. Each morning, I provide everyone with a steaming hot breakfast—usually slightly charred since the backpack refuses to give me a microwave. Then, Zuko would teach Aang the art of Fire bending while I—and sometimes Toph—would watch. He would break to teach me also, so I can defend myself in the Fire Nation. Lunch is usually light, some food bought from nearby villages. After we eat, I try to teach Aang Time bending. It's slow going though (no pun intended), since I learned in a dream; it's difficult to bring that into reality, let alone teach every detail. When I'm done cursing under my breath and Aang cannot successfully freeze time (I would know because I'm immune to other Time benders abilities—kind of like Zuko's immune to mine), Aang shows me some Air bending techniques. My mother said I could bend a little of every element, to use as a disguise in case we went into deep cover in a town or village.

Then we break for some free time and relaxation. It's really just the time of day that we grow sick of each other's presence, and when the most fighting occurs. Zuko and I usually hang out together, talking or playing with something from my backpack. So far, I've taught him how to use an iPod, Nintendo Gameboy, and a laser—we spent nearly three hours making Momo chase after the beam. Other times, Zuko teaches me about life in this century, like how to test if the water is clean, the mannerisms of the people, and, most importantly, who to avoid.

For dinner, Katara and I have been alternating each night. It still surprises me that none of the guys offer to help with it, but it's almost easier this way. After dinner, we sit around the campfire—which Zuko and Aang start, saving us a lot of cursing—and just talk and laugh. I really feel like I'm becoming a part of the group.

Tonight, Zuko decides to make us tea. His Uncle Iroh would drink it all the time.

"No one can make tea like Uncle," Zuko tells me as he pours it, "but hopefully I learned a thing or two." We carefully carry the tea to the rest of the group.

"Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?" he asks them.

"Sure!"

"I like jokes."

"Bring it."

Zuko smiles. "Well I can't remember how it starts, but the punch line is, 'leaf me alone! I'm bushed!'"

Everyone stares blankly for a moment.

"I think you need the start of the joke for the punch line to have punch," I say gently.

"Well, it's funnier when Uncle tells it," Zuko whispers back.

"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little," Toph says. "It hardly ever happens." We all agree. Of course, I know nothing about their life _but_ this relaxation.

When Zuko goes to give Sokka his tea, Sokka asks if the two of them could talk alone for a second. While they go off and talk, the rest of us talk about what we want for breakfast the next day.

"Could we have those toaster waffles again?" Aang asks eagerly.

"Or maybe the strawberry crepes," Katara adds. "The strawberries are delicious!"

"They were both yummy," Toph concurs. "But they would be yummier if we could mash them together!"

"Maybe we can," I think aloud. "What if we get strawberry jam and spread it on the waffles?"

"Yum!"

"Perfect."

"Make sure there's enough for me!"


	16. Chapter 16

Later, when Zuko and I are talking before bed, I ask him what Sokka wanted.

"It's nothing," Zuko says, but I can tell by the way he avoids my face that it was not nothing.

"Well if it's nothing, then you should have no problem telling me," I sweet-talk.

He smiles at my logic, but it quickly vanishes. With a sigh, he reveals, "He wanted to know where his dad was taken after the invasion. I suggested the Boiling Rock."

Intriguing. "What's the boiling rock?"

"It's the Fire Nation's top security prison, on an island surrounded by boiling water. Completely inescapable."

"I sure hope you didn't tell him where it is," I snort, looking for his favorite song on the iPod. When he doesn't answer, I look up.

"Kind of," he admits. "I told him it was between here and the Fire Nation, and that they passed it on their way here."

"You do know that he's going to go there and try to break out his dad?"

Zuko's face hardens. "We have to stop him. Like I said, the island's completely inescapable."

So, we soon find ourselves in Appa's saddle. It doesn't take long for Sokka to arrive.

"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko accuses.

Sokka screams in shock and falls back onto the ground. "Fine," he says. "You caught me. I'm going to rescue my dad. Are you happy not?"

"I'm almost never happy," Zuko replies.

"Look, I have to do this," Sokka argues. "The invasion plan was my idea, it was _my_ decision to stay when things were going wrong. My mistake, and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor. You two can't stop me."

"You have to regain your honor?" I almost laugh as Zuko and I climb down.

"Believe me," Zuko promises, "I get it. I'm going with you."

"No," Sokka is adamant. As he climbs onto Appa, he says, "I have to do this alone."

"How are you going to get there?" I ask him. "On Appa?"

"Last I checked, prisons don't have bison day cares," Zuko picks up my train of thought.

Sokka groans in defeat.

"We'll take my war balloon," Zuko decides.

Sokka and I move to follow him to its hiding place. He told me that it's near where his campsite was when he first arrived, above the cliff.

"Where are you going?" Sokka asks me when he sees that I don't go back to my room.

"With you guys," I shoulder my backpack. "Obviously."

"No, it's too dangerous," Zuko worries.

"You honestly think that I'm in danger?" I humor them. "Guys, my Time bending kicks in whenever I even _think_ I'm in danger. Besides, you don't think I'll be useful?"

They look at each other, mulling over my words. Sokka shrugs, and Zuko reluctantly agrees. We leave a note saying we're going fishing and leaving homework for Aang.

Soon enough, we are in the air over the coast. Zuko keeps the fire going to lift the balloon, while I think about a chemistry lesson I had back home. It was the ratio of the balloon's volume to the amount of hot air it needed to stay afloat. I don't remember the exact equation, but Zuko's war balloon was nowhere near the size of the hot-airs in my time. Still, it was flying through the air as we sped toward the Boiling Rock.


	17. Chapter 17

"There it is!" Zuko exclaims the next night. I tried to catch up on sleep the way there. Trying to get the two boys who were once enemies to have a normal conversation proved to be almost impossible. So was finding a comfortable sleeping spot; I finally settled on just behind the heater. It was warm and protected from the wind.

Sokka and I leap to the front of the balloon.

"There's plenty of steam to keep us covered," Zuko says. "As long as we keep quiet, we should be able to navigate through it without being caught."

He's right. It's almost as if the volcano's smoking, but the smoke is white instead of gray.

"Wait," I exclaim as we enter the hot steam, "Steam is hot. How is the balloon supposed to stay up?"

"We're going down!" Zuko pumps more fire into the inflated balloon. "What are we supposed to do?"

I rack my brains, trying to think of something, anything. Another chemistry lesson comes back to me. At 0 Kelvin, everything stops moving—meaning no heat. It's also theorized that that is when time stops. _Time_.

I quickly move my arms in an effort to conjure the purple mist. I'm almost too late. The basket of the balloon stops not even an inch from the water, and I can feel the heat of it through my sneakers.

Sokka looks around—I was careful to freeze everything but our group. "Nice," he comments. "But how are we supposed to get to the shore? It's still way over there!"

"Calm down, ponytail," I snap. "Just be glad you're not burning up in the lake!"

"Starr," Zuko touches my shoulder. "Is there any way you can move the balloon?"

I think back to the chemistry lesson. "I can slow the time of the air around the balloon," I say slowly, "which would make it colder. So we could slowly fly into the lake."

"Are you sure you can do it?" After all, I've never tried directing my bending at a specific place.

I take a deep breath and nod my head.

I carefully move my arms, remembering what my mother said. Slowly, the steam around us begins to move again, but at only a quarter of the speed as before. Zuko directs the balloon to shore, while Sokka chomps on his fingernails.

Suddenly, I lose my grip on the steam, and it comes back full force. We're only a few feet from the shore, so we leap. The balloon, unfortunately, doesn't make it. It's half in the water, half out when we turn to look at it.

"How are we going to get off the island now?" Zuko asks.

"We'll figure something out," I reassure him.

"I suspected it might be a one way ticket anyway," Sokka gets up and moves toward the balloon.

"What?" I exclaim.

"You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyway?" Zuko questions.

"My dad might be here!" Sokka lifts the now empty balloon. "I had to come and see."

"Uncle always said I never thought things through, but this is rid—ugh this is crazy!"

"Hey, I never wanted you to come along in the first place! And for the record, I always think things through., but my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time I'm playing it by ear. So there."

Sokka puts his hands on the metal basket to give it a push into the lake, but it burns his hands on contact. Seeing his motivation, I get up to join him in kicking it in.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asks us.

"It doesn't work anyway," I remind him.

"And we don't want anyone to find it," Sokka adds.

We turn to face the enormous prison.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Sokka," Zuko warns. "There's no turning back now."


	18. Chapter 18

While it's still nighttime, we sneak through the front door. I'm able to—barely—Air bend us up to the top, then I freeze the guards in place while we sneak past. Honestly, where would the guys be if I weren't here? At the bottom of the lake.

Just before dawn, we find the guardroom and quickly change. We store everything in my backpack, which I'm able to squeeze under my uniform. The female uniform happens to be a midriff baring top with a skirt, but there's leggings under the mini skirt. Rather chic for the time period.

"I hope these disguises work," Zuko prays.

"You worry too much," I give his hand a quick squeeze.

Sokka lays out our plan. "We just have to lay low and find my dad as soon as—"

He is cut off by a troop of guards running down a conjoining hallway.

"Guards!" one of them calls. "There's a scuffle in the yard. Come on!"

I give Zuko a look that has I-told-you-so written all over it, and we quickly join the sounds of running.

When we get to the yard, the prisoners—all dressed in Fire Nation red (this time period really likes their color coding)—are in a huge circle around a guard and another prisoner.

"I told you," the prisoner says as we fall in the ranks, "I didn't do anything! I'm going back to my cell."

As he turns to leave, the guard bends his fire into a whip. "Stop right there, Chin Sang."

I move to defend the prisoner, but Zuko holds me back and gives a small shake of his head. "We can't blow our cover," he murmurs.

"I've had it with you and your unruly behavior," the guard declares.

"What did I do?" Chin Sang challenges.

The guard smiles. "He wants to know what he did," the guard turns to Sokka, who's right behind him. "Isn't that cute?"

"Uh, very cute, sir," I stammer, drawing his attention off of a frozen-in-fear Sokka.

"Super cute," Sokka adds.

The guard turns back to the prisoner. "You didn't bow down when I walked by, Chin Sang."

"What? That's not a prison rule!"

"Do it!"

"Make me."

The guard walks behind Chin Sang and makes his Fire whip again. This time, when he aims it at the prisoner, Chin Sang bends the Fire back at the guard.

"Fire bending is prohibited," the guard claims his victory. "You're going in the cooler. You!" The guard points to Sokka. "Help me take him in."

"Meet back here in an hour," I tell Sokka as he walks away.

After the guard and Sokka remove Chin Sang from the yard, the rest of the prisoners move back inside. Zuko and I fall into step with some other guards headed for the break room.

When we get to the break room, I notice the other guards have their helmets off. No one knows me, or will even recognize me, so I take mine off too. Zuko keeps his on to hide his scar.

We go to the food bar to stock up—we didn't get breakfast. Their food actually looks pretty good, but it's all fish, as in sushi. Personally, I don't like eating anything from an animal unless it's cooked, so I grab a banana instead.

"Hey, new guy," we hear a male voice call. Zuko and I turn around. "I know it's the rule to have your helmet on at all times, but this is the lounge. Relax!"

I start sweating, but Zuko has his response ready. "But what if there's an incident? If I'm not prepared, someone could strike me on the head."

We move to sit with the man and his two friends—another man and a woman. They all laugh as if Zuko had just said the funniest joke they'd ever heard.

"Give it a week," the woman says, "He'll loosen up."

"Can the new guy as you veterans a few questions about the prison?" Zuko says. I almost choke on my banana at his formality.

"No," the woman says whacking me on the back. "You cannot date the female guards."

"Trust me, you don't want to," the man jokes. The woman throws her empty cup at him.

"No, that's not it," Zuko keeps his straight face. "The Boiling Rock: it holds the Fire Nation's most dangerous criminals, right?" The man and woman both nod. "So what about war prisoners?"

At that point, I get up to leave. I don't think I could stand another moment sitting there pretending not to know our secret plan. I could explode from the tension between Zuko and me. Instead, I throw the remains of my banana in the trash and go to poke around the prison.


	19. Chapter 19

Turns out, it's a lot like a prison from my time: cells, an enclosed yard, and one entrance. The guards' sleeping quarters are on one side, while the prisoners' cells are near the middle. I meet up with Sokka at Chin Sang's cooler—a tiny, enclosed refrigerator sticking out the side of the prison. I guess it's supposed to stop the prisoners from Fire bending.

Sokka and I pretend not to recognize each other. We make small talk with the other guard, and are in the middle of a debate on Fire whips versus plain old flame when another man walks up. He looks like an old, irritated Native American chief. At least, that's what crosses my mind when he stops before us and motions for the door to be opened.

"It's the Warden," the guard whispers pulling down his visor. "Look alive."

"So, Chin Sang," the Warden says to the prisoner after Sokka opens the cooler door. "I heard you used Fire bending to try and escape. You should know better."

"I w-wasn't trying t-to escape," the prisoner pleads.

"He's lying!" the guard shouts. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

"No one has ever, ever escaped from here," the Warden continues uninterrupted. "I'd sooner jump in the boiling lake myself rather than let that record fall. Don't forget it. Now, go back to your shivering."


	20. Chapter 20

Sokka and I are standing on a balcony watching over the prisoners in the yard when yet another guard walks up to us.

"Hey there," a familiar voice says, "fellow guards. How goes it?"

"Zuko!" I raise my visor and throw my arms around him.

After hugging me back, he motions for me to keep my voice down, but still keeps an arm around me.

"Listen," he says to Sokka, "I asked around the lounge. There are no water tribe prisoners. I'm afraid your father's not here."

Sokka looks crushed. "What? Are you sure? Did you double check?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Sokka punches the nearby wall with a clang of metal on metal.

"I'm really sorry, Sokka," I sympathize.

"So we came all this way for nothing?" Sokka exclaims. "I failed…again."

"What would Uncle say?" Zuko asks himself. He thinks for a moment, then moves to the railing and looks at the clouds. "Sometimes, clouds have two sides: a dark and light, and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich!" Sokka and I look at each other with matching faces of confusion. "So when life seems hard, take a bite out of the silver sandwich."

Something in the courtyard catches Sokka's eye. "Maybe we haven't failed after all!"

"That's the spirit! I can't believe that even worked," Zuko says. "I don't even know what I was saying."

"You understood what he said?" I ask Sokka. What Zuko said sounds like Shakespeare to me.

"No, what he said made no sense at all," Sokka admits. "But look!" He points to one lonely, female prisoner sitting on a rock in the yard. "It's Suki!"

I barely glimpse the look of longing on his face before Sokka takes off in the direction of the holding cells. Zuko and I look at each other and shrug, then move to another area of the prison to watch over. We choose the entrance hall, where the prisoners are mopping the floor.

"Honestly, why didn't you want me to come along?" I ask Zuko.

He's quiet for a moment. For a second, I think he didn't hear me before I realize that he doesn't want it to look like we're having a conversation. It would make the other guards suspicious, the two of us talking when we should be guarding.

"I didn't want you to get hurt," Zuko says. "The Fire Nation's a dangerous place, especially for an outsider. You would be in constant danger, and I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt."

I smile at his heartfelt words. "You know I can handle myself," I remind him.

"Can you?" He counters. "Because you certainly don't handle yourself well at night. I've been waking you up nearly every night since I got here because of your night mares."

"That's completely different," I argue.

"How?"

"Because…because…that's when I'm asleep!" It's really the only reason I can give. "And because now we're actually in the Fire Nation!"

"How could that possibly make you feel safe?"

"It just does," I tell him firmly. I refuse to tell him about the nightmare—that fire feels like the only safe thing among the other elements.

"Fine," Zuko finally says. "But I'm still worried about you. Much as you might want to believe it, you're not invincible."

Zuko leaves a few minutes later to check on Sokka. I think about what he said to me. I guess I am vulnerable, but that's only when I fall asleep. I'm perfectly fine when Katara, Toph, and Aang bend their respective elements. A little weirded out, maybe, but not to the point of screaming.


	21. Chapter 21

"Zuko's been arrested," Sokka tells me, out of breath. "It couldn't be avoided, and now he's in a cell, and the Warden's about to talk to him."

"Wait, what?" I'm trying to process this as fast as I can while keeping up the pretense of guarding. "How did that happen?"

"I was talking to Suki, then Zuko knocked on the door, but another guard wanted to get into Suki's cell and Zuko couldn't let that happen so he attacked the guard while I snuck out but she saw me and told me to arrest Zuko which I thought would be cool, but it turned out to be not so fun because now the Warden's about to interrogate him and he's been locked up." When Zuko finally stops for breath, I'm staring at him like he has three heads. Zuko's been arrested? But he was the one who was all about keeping our cover!

"We have to help him," I decide.


	22. Chapter 22

Sokka and I can't figure out a good plan to get Zuko out, so we settle for wait-and-see. I arrange to be one of the guards with the Warden when Zuko is being interrogated, while Sokka looks around for an escape plan.

Soon after we part ways, I'm swept up with the other guards that are with the Warden. Before I know it, I'm marching down the hall towards Zuko's cell.

"Well, well, well," the Warden drawls stepping into the cell. "I never thought I'd find you in here…Prince Zuko."

I step into the cell with another guard just behind the Warden. I can see that they've dressed Zuko in the horrible bright red shirt and pants that all the prisoners are forced to wear. Honestly, that color looks awful on everybody—except for maybe Santa. It pains me to see him like this, but there's nothing I can do about it.

"How did you know who I am?" Zuko is asking the Warden. He doesn't even glance at me.

"How could I not? You broke me niece's heart."

"You're Mai's uncle?" Zuko steps away from the wall, and my chest tightens. "I never meant to hurt her."

"Quiet!" the Warden orders. "You're my special prisoner now. And you best behave. If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor prince who let his nation down, why… they'd tear you to shreds."

"What's in it for you?" Zuko turns it around. "Why don't you just tell my father and collect your reward?"

"All in due time, believe me, I intend to collect."

It's almost too much for me at that point. I can feel my anger and worry well up inside me, but I'm somehow able to squash it down. My hands shake as I close Zuko's cell door behind the Warden.

"Make sure he's constantly guarded," the Warden orders. "He will do anything to escape here."

"Yes, Warden," we all answer.


	23. Chapter 23

When Sokka and I meet up again, he has a plan and the prisoners are mopping another hall. Zuko and Suki happen to be right where Sokka and I are standing.

"Starr?" Sokka tentatively calls. "That you?"

I give him a small nod.

"I have a plan. We are busting out, tonight!" Sokka glances at Zuko and Suki mopping right next to each other. "Oh, good," he says to them. "You guys have met."

"Actually," Suki corrects, "we met a long time ago."

Zuko looks confused. "We did?"

"Yeah, you kinda burned down my village."

"Oh," Zuko responds. "Sorry about that. Nice to see you again."

We all move to a concealed corner behind the stairwell.

"So listen," Sokka says. "I think I have an escape plan. I checked out the coolers again: the whole point of them is to keep Fire benders contained, right?"

"Yeah," We respond.

"So they're completely insulated, and sealed to keep the cold in! Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out."

"Just get to the point, Sokka," Suki hurries him. The guards will notice us missing any minute!

"It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water!"

We all look at each other—how could that possibly work?

"Will it work?" Zuko echoes my thoughts.

"I'm telling you," Sokka insists. "It'll work. I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll just roll the cooler into the water and just flow with the current. It'll take us straight across, and as long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. Bing, bang, boom, we're home free!"

"But how are you going to get the cooler out?" I ask boy genius.

"Yeah," we all hear a deep voice and look up on the stairs. It's Chin Sang. "How _are_ you gonna get the cooler out?" He leaps down and into our circle.

"What?" Sokka panics. "We-w-what? We didn't-we didn't say that!"

"Yeah," I add. "You heard wrong."

"I heard you hatching that escape plan," Chin Sang looks dead serious. "I want in."

"There's nothing to get in on," Zuko insists.

"Yeah, the only thing we're hatching is…" Sokka scratches his head. "An egg?" We all drop our heads to our hands and groan.

"Okay," Chin Sang negotiates. "I come with you, or the Warden hears about this 'egg' too."

Suki looks at Sokka. "I guess we have no choice."

"Okay," Sokka decides. "You're in."

I figure it's time to put this plan into motion. "First we need someone to unbolt the cooler. From the inside."

Sokka takes a wrench out of his pocket and hands it over to Zuko.

"Oh, I can get you inside," Chin Sang raises an eyebrow in Zuko's direction. "I'll fake fight you, you Fire bend, and you're in."

Zuko nods. We all go back to our posts: Sokka and I watching, Zuko and Suki mopping. It takes no time at all for Zuko to 'bump' into Chin Sang.

"Ugh!" Chin Sang groans. "Hey! What are you, stupid?" He makes a grab for Zuko's shoulders and throws him aside. "Watch where you're going!"

"You watch where you're shoving!" Zuko retorts, shoving him into the middle of the floor to grab the other guards' attention.

"I think you mean 'whom' I'm shoving!" Chin sang sneers.

I wince. _Really?_ I think. _A grammar lesson?_

Zuko and Chin Sang begin fighting. Punches fly and the other prisoners soon form a circle, cheering for this break from their boredom. It doesn't take long before Zuko throws a ball of Fire in his opponent's direction.

"I need back up over here!" I step into the circle and call to the other guards.

"No Fire bending," a male guard demands.

"Into the cooler," I agree, locking Zuko's hands behind his back in my own. As I walk him away, the other guard follows me. _That's going to be difficult_, I think, _since we're supposed to work out our signal_.

"I can handle this one," I say gruffly, "You can go back to the other prisoners."

"Are you sure?" the other guard responds. I see him eye my small arms. "He could break free and attack at any moment."

Instead of responding, I flip my hold on Zuko's wrists and bring my arms over my head. Zuko goes flying over and lands on his back with a thud. He grimaces in pain.

"I'm fine," I growl to the guard—and little towards Zuko. The guard backs away toward the hall. As soon as he's around the corner, I help Zuko to stand.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Zuko rubs his shoulder.

"Self-defense class I took a few years ago," I tell him. It was my mom's idea, really. After all, I lived in _New York City_.

Zuko and I turn a few more corners, with no guards in sight, so I don't lock his arms again. We walk in silence most of the way there.

Just before we make the turn to the hall with the coolers, Zuko presses me to the wall and kisses me deeply on the lips. If it weren't for the fact that we were in a top security prison with his as a prisoner, it would be sweet and romantic. I mean, it still is sweet, but we are in a dirty prison hall.

"What was that?" I ask when we come up for air.

"An apology," Zuko replies, keeping his hold on my waist.

I'm confused. "For what?"

He smiles and pulls me away from the wall. "For saying that you couldn't take care of yourself. You really can, and I was just worried about you."

I smile back at him. "Apology accepted."

We walk around the last corner before the coolers, and I regretfully shut Zuko into one of them. But, just before he slides in, he gives me another, softer kiss. Then he gets to work on the bolts.


	24. Chapter 24

I guard Zuko's cooler for the remainder of his 'punishment'. A few other guards walk by, on their way back from breaks, but none glimpse inside the cooler. From the heat I feel on my side of the door, I can tell that Zuko's started a fire to keep himself warm. After a few hours, I open the door.

"I can take you back to your cell if you've learned your lesson," I say for the benefit of some guards who are walking away.

Zuko breathes out a small ball of flame. "Yes, I have," he responds, pulling his arms away from his shirt to show me all the bolts he has undone. "Completely."

I smile. "Sokka got Suki and Chin Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago," I whisper. "They'll be waiting for us at the shore."

"Someone's coming!" Zuko grabs my shoulder and pulls me into the cooler. We pull the door almost closed.

"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn."

"Anybody interesting?"

"Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners…though I did hear there might be a pirate!"

The guards' voices fade as they walk away. Zuko and I share a look.

"War prisoners," Zuko repeats.

"It could be Sokka's father," I agree. "I know."

"Well, what should we do? Are we going ahead with the plan, or are we waiting another night?"

I close my eyes to think. "I don't know. We should get to the shore and tell Sokka—it's his dad."

Zuko nods, and we quickly leave the cooler. We make our way out of the prison and onto the rocky shore, where we climb up the boulders to get the cooler. We yank it out of the wall and try to quietly roll it to where Sokka said we would meet.

"Took you guys long enough," Chin Sang mutters. He gestures to the other man and woman waiting with them. "This here's my girl and my best buddy; they're coming too."

"Fine," I grit my teeth.

When the cooler is finally sitting on the sand, I pull Sokka aside to tell him what we heard. "So what do you want to do?"

Sokka stares at me with wide eyes. "I don't know," he finally admits. "Is it right for me to risk Suki's freedom—all of our freedom—on the slim chance that my dad is going to show up?"

"It's your call," I tell him. "You said you wanted to redeem yourself. Rescuing your father is your chance."

"Your dad?" Suki asks as she walks up. Chin Sang and his friends are already in the cooler.

"If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess," Sokka says. "Maybe sometimes it's just better to call it quits before you fail."

"No," Zuko pipes up. "It's not. Look Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out—"

"That's supposed to make him feel better?" I interrupt, but Zuko plows ahead.

"—even though you will probably fail over and over and over again—"

"Seriously," I whisper, "not helping!"

"—you have to try every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you _might_ fail."

"Hey," Chin Sang cuts in, "Can we get a move on?" He gestures to the make-shift boat.

Sokka closes his eyes and breathes deep. "No, I'm staying." Sokka turns to Suki, Zuko and me. "You guys go. You've been here long enough."

"I'm not leaving without you, Sokka," Suki says, putting a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"We're staying too," I add for Zuko and myself.

"Not me," Chin Sang counters, "I'm out!" With a shove of the cooler, he leaps in and floats away toward the opposite shore.

"We just gave up our only chance of escaping," Sokka realizes. "I hope we didn't just make a huge mistake."


	25. Chapter 25

At dawn, we all wake early to see the new arrivals. As we make our way to one of the balconies, we hear a bellow from the lake, followed by the clanging of a bell.

"Secure the perimeter! Lock down the prisoners!" the Warden roars.

"The plan failed," I realize.

"Their caught," Zuko agrees.

We watch in silence as an arrow imbeds itself in the cooler, and the attached string slowly brings it in.

"The gondola's moving," Sokka points the other direction. It's the only way in or out of the prison. The new arrivals would surely be in it. "This is it. If my dad's not there, we risked everything for nothing."

"We had to," Suki reminds him, and takes his hand.

We watch as, one by one, the new prisoners exit the gondola and line up on the platform. Then the line stops. Everyone has exited.

"That's it?" Sokka almost cries. "That can't be it."

"I'm so sorry, Sokka," Suki comforts him.

"Hey guys," I point to the gondola, realizing that it's still listing to the side. "Look!"

The last man steps off. He's kind of tall, with two strands of hair beaded to his right, already dressed in the hideous red prison uniform.

"Dad," Sokka whispers with a smile.


	26. Chapter 26

**The Escape**

We watch the warden speak to the new prisoners—his usual tirade of not escaping—then we have to lead Zuko and Suki back to their cells. Sokka wants to go looking for him father, so we set out to search for him. It's not hard to find him—he's in the same row as the rest of the new arrivals. While Sokka reunites with his father, I go back to my 'rightful place' in the Warden's guard. He's about to interrogate Chin Sang about our escape.

"Are you comfortable, Chin Sang?" the Warden dangerously asks as he walks in.

At first, I think Chin Sang is going to rat us out. "If you're trying to get me to talk, forget it!" he exclaims. "I'm not a squealer."

The Warden laughs. "I only asked if you were comfortable."

Chin Sang looks surprised, then ashamed for almost giving himself away. "Well, yeah, actually. I am pretty comfortable." How he can be fine in a ramrod straight chair with his hands bound to the arms is beyond me, though.

Suddenly, the Warden kicks the chair facedown, with Chin Sang's face squashed between the head and the floor.

"Are you still comfortable?"

"No."

"I know you and your cronies are not smart enough to come up with that little escape plan," the Warden tells him. "So you're going to tell me who is."

He laughs and turns his back on the prisoner. Chin Sang's guards slide into the room to turn his chair right-side-up, and the door clangs closed behind them.

"Sir," I ask tentatively, "how do you know he will talk?"

"Oh, I know," he responds, already walking away. "Believe me, he will talk."


	27. Chapter 27

In the lounge, Sokka meets with me to talk about the plan he and his father came up with.

"Don't tell me everything," I warn. "There are guards crawling all over this place."

"Fine, here's the basics," Sokka responds. "This plan needs a big distraction. We all have to be in the yard in one hour."

"But the prisoners are on lockdown," I remind Sokka.

"Already taken care of."

"How?" I ask, but Sokka's cut off by a couple of guards walking by. We're silent as they walk past.

"I can't tell you all the details here," He finally says. "Just get the message to Zuko. I'll tell Suki."

I nod and put my helmet back on. Sokka stays to lie around some more, so we don't look too suspicious leaving together. As I navigate the halls, I think about what Sokka's plan could be. What could be so big that we need to cause a huge distraction? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of being sneaky?

Before I know it, I'm at Zuko's cell door.

"Zuko," I whisper through the slit of a window. "Are you there?"

His eyes appear in the slit. "I'm here."

"New plan," I quickly tell him. "Sokka and his dad cooked it up. I don't know the details, but we all have to be in the yard in one hour. Something about a big distraction and—"

"Hey, you!" a voice shouts. "What are you doing?"

I quickly turn and see two guards coming down the steps. I think quickly. "I'm just telling this dirty low life what I think of him." I make up.

"Well, you'll have to do that later," the man says. "He's coming with us."

I glance at Zuko's door. "Why?"

"Because we have orders straight from the Warden," the woman counters. "That's why."

I back away from the door and gesture for them to enter. They drag Zuko out and up the stairs. I give him a small, sad smile before he's out of sight. Then, I count to 30 and follow them.

The guards take Zuko to the room he was in when the Warden interrogated him yesterday. They unceremoniously throw him into the chair.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Zuko shouts at the guards. I watch from behind the corner as they bolt the door shut and walk away.

"Come on, Zuko," a new female voice says. "We all know that's a lie."

"Mai," Zuko whispers in disbelief. I scurry to the unguarded door to listen closer.

"How did you know I was here?" is his first question.

"Because I know you so well," Mai drawls.

"But how—"

"The Warden is my uncle, you idiot."

Zuko groans. I hear a paper unfurl.

"The truth is," Mai continues, "I guess I don't know you."

_Damn straight!_ I think. _Just who does this girl think she is?_

"All I get is a letter?" Mai sneers. "You could've at least looked me in the eyes when you ripped out my heart."

"I didn't mean to—"

"You didn't mean to?" Mai interjects. I hear her shake out the paper. "'Dear Mai,'" she reads. "'I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I'm leaving—'"

"Stop!" Zuko interrupts. "This isn't about you! This is about the Fire Nation."

"Thanks, Zuko, that makes me feel all better," Mai drawls again. Her voice hasn't changed mood throughout their entire conversation. No wonder Sokka called her a downer. In the distance, I hear the clock toll out the hour; just ten minutes until we have to be in the yard.

"Mai," I hear Zuko the scrape of Zuko's chair. "I never wanted to hurt you, but I have to do this to save my country."

"Save it? You're betraying your country!"

"That's not how I see it," Zuko retorts.

"Me either," I finally barge into his room. "Zuko, we have to go." I hold out my hand while Mai shoots daggers with her eyes. She'd be pretty, if she got some sun in her pale skin. Her hair's all done up in a weird-but-cool bun on top of her head with two long strands hanging down her face.

"Just who are you?" Mai asks me. "I was told I'd have all the time I wanted with Zuko."

"Well, you're time has been cut short," I clip, ignoring her question. "Zuko, come on, ten minutes."

Mai and I both look at Zuko, forcing him to choose. Finally, he takes my hand and leads me out the door, just as the alarms ring signaling that all of the prisoners have been released into the yard.

"Let's go," he says.


	28. Chapter 28

When we get to the yard, it's in chaos. A prison riot chaos.

"Who let these prisoner into the yard?" I hear the Warden roar. "This is supposed to be a lockdown!"

I spot the rest of our group by one of the smokestacks in the yard. Zuko throws me on his back piggy-back style and runs straight toward them. At the last second, someone tried to attack us, but I get in a kick to his shoulder as I slide to the ground while Zuko flips him over—similar to the way I flipped him yesterday. Sokka quickly introduces us to his father, Hakota.

"Zuko, Starr," Sokka sighs in relief. "Good you're here. Now all we need to do is grab the Warden and get to the gondolas." Sokka points to where the Warden is standing.

"And how do we do that?" Zuko points out. The Warden is across the yard and up on the third floor balcony.

Sokka thinks for a moment. "I'm not sure," he admits.

"I thought you thought this through!"

"I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through!"

"Maybe not everything," Zuko exclaims, "but this is important!"

The rest of his plan falls into place in my head. We're escaping on the gondolas, but to prevent them from cutting the line, we need a hostage—a valuable hostage like the Warden. No way would the guards cut the line while we have the Warden with us.

"Not a problem," I interrupt their arguing. I raise my arms as the energy wells up in my body; all the anger, worry, and stress of the past few days explodes out of my fingertips into the dreamy purple mist. Everyone but our group freezes, more solidly than I've ever stopped time before.

Suki and Hakota glance around in wonder, but don't stop to ask questions. Suki leaps and bounds towards the Warden's balcony and climbs her way up. I use my minimal Air bending to throw us up there as well. By that point, Suki already has the Warden bound and gagged.

"Sorry, Warden," she taunts. "You're my prisoner now."

"We've got the Warden!" I cheer.

"Now let's get out of here," Zuko reminds me.

We make a break for the gondolas, only a little ways away. As everybody climbs aboard, Zuko flips the switch and breaks the mechanism. The gondola starts moving away from the dock, and for a second I think that Zuko's not going to make it. He leaps off of the railing, sailing through the air. I instinctively reach out a hand, and he barely catches it.

Once he's safe, I release the string of moments we ran through.

"Hey why's the gondola moving?" one of the guards stupidly asks.

"There's prisoners!" another guard shouts.

"And the Warden," I shout back at them. We show the still frozen Warden through the window. The guards are dumbfounded, just as we thought they would. With us safe, I release the Warden from his frozen trip through time.

He immediately starts kicking around and making a fuss. He tries to yell for my help—since I'm still wearing the guard uniform—but I quickly take it off to reveal my normal clothes of cut-off sweatpants and a fitted t-shirt underneath.

"Can't you do something to shut him up, Starr?" Zuko gestures to the guard.

I stifle a yawn and tie my hair into a loose bun. "No, I used most of my energy to freeze everything down there."

"We're on our way," Suki sighs in relief.

"Wait," Hakota halts our semi-celebration. "Who's that?" He points to two girls, both dressed in the Fire Nation's signature color—red.

"That's a problem," Zuko gulps. "It's my sister and her friend."

As soon as he says that, the two girls leap into action. The one dressed in pink with a braid jumps onto the gondola cable and tight-rope-walks across it to us. The other girl—Zuko's sister, Azula—uses a nearby guard's handcuffs to latch onto the cable, then uses Lightning to propel herself down the line.

"This is a rematch I've been waiting for," Suki smiles wickedly.

"Me too," Zuko agrees.

Suki, Zuko, Sokka, and I pull ourselves to the roof of the gondola, leaving Hakota to watch over our prisoner. The girls soon join us. Sokka and Suki take Ty Lee, while Zuko and I deal with Azula.

Azula throws a burst of Lightning across the roof of the gondola, which Zuko counters with his Fire. I throw a bundle of energy at her head, which she dodges. Azula keeps throwing her Lightning, but Zuko stops her every time. Every so often, I toss in a blow of Air, Fire, or a bundle of my own purple mist, but it always misses the princess by mere millimeters. Zuko and are the perfect team together, but Azula is almost better.

For a second, we think we have her as she precariously teeters on her hands on the edge, but Azula flips herself over with a burst of white Lightning.

Suddenly, I hear the Warden's voice shout to the island, "Cut the line!"

The gondola jerks to a stop and swings on its pendulum. I lose my footing and slip to the edge, screaming.

My feet go over, and I'm looking at the boiling water face-to-face. Well, face to bubbles.

"Starr!"

All of a sudden, I can feel Zuko's warm, strong hands pulling me back up. I hurry to stand, glad to see that Azula and Ty Lee had lost their stances as well. Azula glances back at the station and sees the guards bring out a huge saw. Her friend scrambles up to the device holding the gondola to the cable.

"They're about to cut the line!" Ty Lee screams.

Azula wickedly smiles as she sees another gondola coming into the prison from the other cable. "Then it's time for us to leave." She throws her hands to her sides, sparking a bolt of lightning. She looks a little like Buzz Lightyear from the _Toy Story_ movie. Ty Lee flips through the air, both of them landing on the moving gondola at the same time.

"Good-bye, brother!" Azula calls out from her new domain.

Zuko, Suki, Sokka, and I climb back through the windows into our own gondola, which is about sixty seconds from taking the plunge into the boiling water.

"They're cutting the line," Sokka unnecessarily informs everyone.

"The gondola's about to go," I whisper, horror-struck.

"I hope this thing floats," Hakota prays.

Zuko and I look back to the prison. Out of nowhere, the guards with the saw are thrown against the outside walls, followed by the rest. I can barely make out a girl stepping from the shadows with knife-like weapons in her hand. Apparently, she's the one who pinned the guards to the wall. She easily incapacitates the rest of the guards, and kicks the crowbar stopping the cable out of the way. The gondola begins to move again.

"Who's that?" Sokka asks as the rest of our group joins us at the back of the gondola.

The answer pops into my mind a split second before Zuko responds, sounding shocked.

"It's Mai."

Before I can even process what had happened, the gondola is at the outside station. We leap into the freedom, but not before we retie the Warden. I use my Girl Scout training to make sure that those knots won't come undone for anything except a knife.

"Sorry, Warden," I tease. "Looks like your record of no escapees is officially broken."

Zuko slams the door shut and Hakota flips the switch to send the gondola back to where it came from.

"We made it!" Suki shrieks as we run down the volcano. We're all kind of whooping with the excitement.

"Now what?" Sokka realizes.

I turn back to look at the crest of the volcano and see Zuko looking into the bubbling lake.

"Zuko, what are you doing?"

"My sister was on that island," he says slowly.

"Yeah and she's probably right behind us! So let's _not_ stop!"

"What I mean is, she must've come here somehow." He runs at a right angle to where we were running down the slope.

"There!" he calls out, pointing to the cool water. We see Azula's own personal war balloon boat bobbing at the dock. "That's our way out of here."

After some slipping and sliding down the slope, we commandeer Azula's boat. There were only two guards, which Zuko easily took care of, and soon we were on our way. Of course, we chose to exit the way we left—by flying through the air. This time, Zuko and I took turns throwing Fire into the heater to raise the balloon. My bursts of flame are nearly as big as his.

After the volcano disappears over the horizon, I ask Zuko, "Are you okay?" The rest of our group is below decks getting some sleep in the real beds.

Zuko's silent for a moment. "I guess," he responds. "It was kind of a shock to see Mai and my sister again, though."

"Hmm," I sigh. I stop pouring my flame into the hatch.

"But I'm okay now," he turns to face me, cupping my chin to look me in the eyes. "And you're the one I want to be with." He kisses me in the glow of the coals. It's much warmer and deeper than the kiss by the cooler. More passionate.

"Thank you," he says to me in a ragged voice.

"For what?"

"For inviting yourself along; for not taking 'no' for an answer; for saving my life; for just being there." He kisses me once after each example.

An idea pops into my head and I slowly pull away.

"I have maybe one more thing to add to the list," I whisper. "Just how do you feel about that scar of yours?"

Zuko's hand goes to his eye. "What do you mean?" He looks worried.

"I mean, do you really want it on your face?"

Now he looks confused. He thinks for a moment, rubbing the temple that his scar extends to.

"To be honest, I don't," Zuko admits. "It's a mark of a mistake the Fire Nation thinks I made; not a mark of what I believe is a mistake."

I remove his hand from his face and concentrate. I can feel the power coursing through my veins as what my mother said comes back to me.

…and with Time Bending, you can also heal. You can fast-forward the time on the skin of new wounds, helping them to heal faster. You can reverse the cells of old scars to restore them to their former glory. You can even change the time of a whole body to age or lower the appearance—the best disguises possible! But you must be careful, for every time you do this, you will lose more energy than simply freezing time. This is because you are focusing on a small area with many parts, the many cells. I recommend a chant to concentrate, something repetitive to help you focus…

I think back my own time—it seems so long ago—and my music class. My friends thought I was crazy to take Music Creation as my Fine Arts credit, but it comes in handy now. I hum one of my creations to myself as I work my purple mist over Zuko's left side of his face.

When I step back, his face looks perfectly symmetrical, as if there had never been anything wrong with it in the first place. I lean down to my backpack and pull out a mirror. Wordlessly, I hand it to him.

He stares at his reflection for a solid minute before feeling his new skin. He gazes at me in wonder, then wraps me into a suffocating hug.

"Starr," he quietly says, and says no more. His silence speaks volumes anyway.


	29. Chapter 29

The rest of the way there, Sokka, Suki, and Hakota marvel at my bending skills on Zuko for a bit, but Zuko and I keep to ourselves in the steering room. We do what we did before we left: listening to music, sparring, talking. We arrive back at the Temple the following night.

We land the huge balloon-boat in one of the courtyards we haven't been using, but Katara, Toph, and Aang come running anyway.

"What are you guys doing in this thing?" Katara exclaims as we walk down the ramp onto the stone. "What happened to the war balloon?"

"It kinda…" I glance at Zuko, asking with my face how much we should tell.

"It kinda got destroyed," Zuko finishes for me.

"And Zuko's scar is gone!" Katara seems unable to believe it.

I flex my fingers. "Did you know that Time benders can heal almost any wound?" I ask the Water bending healer.

"Sounds like one crazy fishing trip," Aang smiles.

"Did you at least get some good meat?" Toph asks.

"I did," Sokka starts in on his prepared speech. "The best meat of all: the meat of friendship and fatherhood."

That is Suki and Hakota's cue to join us on the ramp.

Katara has tears in her eyes. "Dad!" She leaps into his arms. "How are you here? What is going on? Where did you go?"

"We kind of went to a Fire Nation prison," Sokka tells her. Hakota pulls him into their family hug.

"Seriously," Toph interrupts the moment. "You guys didn't find _any_ meat?"


	30. Chapter 30

**The Time Prophecy**

Hakota and Suki soon settle into our routine at the Temple. Aang is getting better at Time bending—he was able to freeze everything but Zuko, himself, and me for a solid minute. But he's nowhere near ready to fight with it. I'm picking up the other elements well, but Fire seems easiest to me. Water, on the other hand, remains as distant and as fickle as ever. Zuko has taught me more about hand-to-hand fighting, and Katara and I have gotten to be better cooks over the fire. Of course, it helps that my pack produces fire starters now. With a little bending, we have a roaring bonfire every night.

One night, we all decide to sleep out in the courtyard. Everyone pulls out their sleeping bags—mine from my backpack and two extras for Hakota and Suki—and spreads them in a circle. I have Zuko on my left, then Aang, Katara, Hakota, Sokka, then Suki on my right. We stay up late telling stories and cracking jokes, but everyone soon falls asleep.

We wake with a bang, though.

Bombs and weapons fly at us from the open side of the courtyard, but Aang manages to close it off with the protection left by the Air Nomads. But the ceiling starts to crumble over my head.

"Watch out!" Zuko shouts as he tackles me aside.

We watch the stone crash to the floor where I was standing. Zuko and I share a quick kiss, and get up to fight off whoever is attacking us.

I feel a rumble under my feet followed by the crash of rocks.

"Come on!" Toph calls from a newly formed hole in the wall. "We can get out through here!"

Everyone dashes for the protection and Aang struggles to get Appa to go under the earth.

"Zuko," the kid calls. "What are you doing?"

"You guys go ahead," he responds, "I have a feeling that this is a family visit."

I wrench myself out of Sokka's grasp to stand next to Zuko to cries of, "Starr! Save yourself!"

"Starr, no!"

"Aang, come on!" I hear Sokka call.

"We have to get out of here!" Katara adds, helping the Avatar pull Appa.

Zuko looks surprised to see me next to him. "You should go back," he warns. "This isn't going to be pretty."

"I'm counting on that," I say murderously. "I mean, these people wake me up from my first nightmare-free sleep since I got here? They're going down." Because I quite enjoy my sleep, especially when it's a wonderful dream of Zuko, and me, and the beach and not a cloud in the sky…

Soon enough, the battalion blasts their way through the protective wall to face us head on. Zuko and I run forward and throw simultaneous blasts of Fire at the balloon-boats floating towards us. But, rising from below the cliff, his sister appears, standing in the rigging of another boat.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko shouts at her.

Azula laughs. "You mean it's not obvious yet? I am about to celebrate becoming an only child!"

Anger surges through me and I whip a purple sphere at her body as she points some Lightning at us.

"No!" Zuko shoves me out of the way again. The lightning hits the stone before him and he's thrown into one of the columns.

With a shout, I take a running leap off one of the crumbling towers and jump onto the nearest ship, throwing flame and energy the whole way. Azula meets me on the top of the balloon. But I land off balance, and she barely touches me. I fly off the balloon and drop towards the bottom of the cliff.

Suddenly, I feel strong arms around my waist, and Zuko and I land on another rising balloon-boat. I catch my balance and we face his sister once more.

We run at her ship, leaping through the air again. It seems like a continuation of our battle at the Boiling Rock, us against her. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph aboard Appa, flying to freedom.

We hurls fireball after fireball, but Azula only retaliates with more Lightning. In the middle of our showdown, Azula and Zuko's hands meet in the air, Fire versus Lightning, and they fly in opposite directions with a bang.

"Zuko!" I unthinkingly jump off the balloon after him. We catch each other in the air. From out of nowhere, Appa flies under us, catching our fall. Zuko and I get our balance onboard the beast as we fly far away from the temple.

We don't even look back.


	31. Chapter 31

We finally land at dusk in an open plain. We had been stuck on Appa all day, so we were pretty tired of each other. As it turns out, Hakota got separated from the group when the kids left to help Zuko and me. Toph is sure he's okay, since the tunnel didn't cave in, but Katara still isn't speaking to her. Fortunately, we had planned for Hakota to leave soon anyway to gather some old friends of the group's to help us during the comet. At least now he'll get a head start.

I manage to keep everyone entertained with stuff from my backpack—it's a wonder I still had it after the rumble. When we land, the bag produces five two-person tents and a whole lot of food. I show the group how to set up the first tent, and the rest are up in no time. Aang, Katara, and Toph each get their own, but Sokka and Suki, and Zuko and I, decide to share. Soon, Katara has dinner cooking and we gather around the warm fire.

"Wow," Aang said, "camping. It really feels like old times again."

"If you really want it to feel like old times, I can chase you around a while, trying to capture you," Zuko responds with a smile. Everyone laughs at the joke.

Sokka raises his cup. "To Zuko," he declared. "Who knew after all those times he tried to step us out, today he'd be our hero?"

"Here, here!"

"I'm touched," Zuko replies. "I really don't deserve this."

"No kidding," Katara comments darkly. She rises and stalks away from the warmth of the fire.

Everyone stares blankly at her retreating form.

"What's with her?" Sokka wonders.

I shrug. "I wish I knew."

Zuko gets up and follows Katara to the edge of our camp site. The two talk for a while. Before they come back, the rest of us say good night and retreat to our own tents. I stay to put out the fire.

A few minutes later, Katara comes back and storms to her tent. Zuko walks directly to me.

"What's up?" I ask as I sprinkle the water over our fire.

Zuko collapses onto the one of the logs we found. "She still doesn't trust me," he said, "and she thinks I lured Azula to the temple to try and kill us."

"What?" I glance at him incredulously. "That's crazy!"

"That's what she thinks," Zuko responds. "I asked what I could do to gain her trust, but she turns around and says things like 're-conquer Ba Sing Se in the name of the Earth King,' or to bring her mother back."

"But you can't possibly do that," I move to sit next to him on the log. I see that I missed a few embers, but I leave them be.

"I know," Zuko admits, "but I still want her trust."


	32. Chapter 32

"Just what are you planning, Fire Boy?" I ask Zuko as he sneaks back into our tent. He had just been talking to Sokka about how his mother left them. Kya was taken by the Fire Nation's soldiers years ago.

"How did you know I was gone?" he whispers.

"I'm a light sleeper," I smile in the darkness. "And these tents are paper thin, so sound carries."

He climbs under the blankets and turns to face me. All we have to see by are some glow sticks I found in my bag, which I handed out to everyone for their tents.

Zuko sighs and tells me his plan. "I know who killed Katara's mother—the Southern Raiders. I was asking Sokka how their mother was taken away, and I managed to piece the rest together in my head. I want to take Katara to see the man who took her mom."

"Are you insane?" I whisper/shout. "She'll kill them the first chance she gets! Do you really want more blood on your hands?"

"No," Zuko firmly says, "but I want her to trust me."

I soften and find his hand under the blankets. I give it a squeeze.

"You know," I say, "that if you go, I'm coming with you."

He squeezes my hand back. "No, I can't put you through that danger. Not after what happened at the temple."

"Zuko, I can take care of—"

"I can't do that again!" he interrupts. "Besides, they need you here."

"But I need you," I whisper.

We face each other in silence for a moment. I think about what he said, about not putting me through any more danger—protecting me. I sigh and make up my mind.

"Fine," I yield. "I'll stay here." Zuko interrupts with a kiss.

"Thank you," he says.

"But," I sit up and rummage through my pack until I find the two little devices. "I want you to take this. If you're ever in any trouble and you need me to bail you out, just push this button here. It'll send a signal to mine, and I'll stop time, giving you a chance to escape." I give him one of the pagers, while I keep the receiving beeper.

"But how will that help Katara get out of wherever she is?" Zuko asks.

"Simple," I reply, "you somehow never get frozen when I stop time, so all you have to do is pick her up and get out of wherever you are. When you're safe again, just push the button and I'll release time so you'll be able to travel back."

Zuko kisses me again and pulls me under the warm covers.

"Thank you," he whispers one more time.


	33. Chapter 33

"I need to borrow Appa," Katara walks over to Aang, Zuko, and me the next morning. Sokka and I are finishing breakfast and Aang is feeding his pet. Zuko follows close behind Katara.

"Why?" Aang jokes. "Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?"

Katara's face is hard. "Yes, it is."

Aang hears the edge in her voice and turns around. "Oh, what's going on?"

"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me," she announces. Sokka stops tying wildflowers together and looks up at his sister.

"Sokka told the story of who did it," Zuko tells the group. "I know who did it, and I know how to find him."

"And what exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Aang inquires.

Zuko grabs a biscuit from the flames; Katara shakes her head.

"I knew you wouldn't understand," she scoffed at the Air bender.

"Wait, stop!" Aang calls out. "I do understand! You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the Sand benders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?"

"She needs this, Aang," Zuko cuts in. "This is about getting closure and justice."

"I don't think so," Aang counters. "I think it's about getting revenge."

"Fine!" Katara whips around to face the boy. "Maybe it is, maybe that's what I _need_. Maybe that's what he deserves."

"Katara, you sound like Jet," Aang seems surprised.

"It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man—he's a monster!"

Sokka steps in to try and talk some sense into his sister. "Katara, she was my mother too! But I think Aang might be right."

"Then you didn't love her the way I did!"

"Katara…" Sokka pleads.

Aang hangs his head. "The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper: while you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."

"That's cute," I comment.

"This isn't Air Temple pre-school!" Katara cries. "It's the real world! Now that I know he's out there, now that I know we can find him, I feel like I have no choice."

Aang tries one more time. "Katara, you do have a choice: forgiveness."

"That's the same as doing nothing!" Katara retorts.

"No it's not," Aang corrects. "It's easy to do nothing; it's hard to forgive."

"It's not just hard. It's impossible!" Katara walks away and stews in her tent.


	34. Chapter 34

For the rest of the day, we leave her alone. Zuko actually lends a hand with lunch and dinner, but the rest of the group keeps to themselves. We don't really have anything to say to each other.

When night falls, I hear something rustle outside our tent. Trying not to wake anyone else, I creep outside and join Aang and Sokka. We peer over a boulder to find Katara tying her hair back next to Appa.

"So you were just going to take Appa anyway?" the kid explodes.

"Yes," Katara hisses.

"It's okay," Aang smirks, "because I forgive you." He looks up at Katara and smiles. "That give you any ideas?"

"Don't try to stop me."

"I wasn't planning to."

Zuko walks out of our tent to stand by Katara. He and I had already said our good-bye.

"This is a journey you need to take," Aang continues. "You need to face this man. But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out and the let it go. Forgive him"

Katara climbs onto Appa.

"Okay, I'll be sure to do that," Katara snorts. "Thanks for trying. Yip-yip!" she snaps Appa's reins and they take off.

"You know," Sokka puts an arm around Aang's shoulder. "You're pretty wise for a kid."

"Thanks Sokka," the Avatar responds.

"Usually it's just annoying, but right now, I'm just impressed."

Aang narrows his eyes. "I appreciate that."

Sokka rubs his neck. "So can I borrow Momo for a week?"

"Why do you need Momo?" I whip my head towards Sokka.

He just laughs and shrugs.


	35. Chapter 35

For the first time since I got to this century, I pull out my sketchpad and pencils and draw. I like to say that I'm pretty good, too. I sketch my room, the view from our apartment of Central Park, even a few of my friends. On the flip side, I also sketch our little group, some of the ruins from the temple, and the ocean our campsite is near.

"Not bad," I hear from behind me. I turn to see Sokka looking at my drawing of the volcano that housed the prison.

"Thanks," I smile.

"Is that the Boiling Rock?" Sokka asks. "I can't even see the gondola inside."

"My friends back home say I have the gift of taking something horrible and making it beautiful. I guess this reflects it." I sit back and look at my sketch. You can see the resemblance to the volcano, but it looks completely different—no cable, no prison, no steam.

"Okay, now do one of me," Sokka says as strikes a 'heroic' pose.

I laugh, but get to work anyway.

"So where did you learn to draw like that?" Sokka asks.

I shrug without looking up. He has the strangest arm shape and I want to get it just right. "It just came to me. My mom would say that when I was younger, I would pick up my finger paints and go to town on our walls. She swears that I painted a perfect skyline of New York."

I'm so wrapped up in my drawing that I don't even notice the sun sinking lower and lower until I can't even see anymore.

"I like it," Sokka says holding the picture up to his face. "Thanks, Starr."

I grin. "No probl—"

I'm cut off mid-sentence by my pager buzzing in my pocket. Sokka tilts his head as I take the buzzer out, but before he can say anything, I wave my arm and stop time.

Then everything goes black.


	36. Chapter 36

"STARR MARIE CALAEUM, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

I force my heavy eyelids open and look around. I'm back by the Pacific beach I met my mother on so many weeks ago, but everything is different. The waves crash to the rocky shore with more force, the skies churn with storm clouds, and my mother is shaking me awake with enough force to start an earthquake.

I stare at her contorted face trying to understand her anger. "Huh?"

"Do you know the consequences of your actions? The danger you've put yourself into? WHY ARE YOU NOT MORE CAREFUL?"

"What are you talking about?" I finally spit out.

"It's that boy," my mother paces before me, muttering to herself. "It's always the boys. I should have raised you better than that, I should have—but what does it matter if you're about to risk your life anyway? How could I have stopped what had already happened? But you should have been more careful, oh why didn't you…"

I let her steam while I try to recall the last thing I remember happening. _I felt the pager buzz, so Zuko was in trouble. That's the only reason the pager should have buzzed. Why is my mother so angry about it though? Shouldn't I be helping people in danger?_

"Starr," my mother faces me. "Why in the world would you risk exposing yourself and the Time benders? Why would you destroy centuries and centuries of secrecy? We have stayed hidden for a reason! People would try to exploit us for their own gain…and you throw it all away for some _boy_?"

"He's not just some boy mother," I stand tall and proud.

"Well then, what makes him so different from any other boy?" she sneers.

How dare she? She's making Zuko sound like any other guy in New York!

"Because he gets me," I say hotly. "Because we go fantastically together!"

"Those are merely reasons to date a boy," my mother cuts me off. "I need a solid reason for you to tell him everything—_everything_—that our ancestors have so long kept secret."

I stand tall and look her in the eye. "Because nothing I do affects him in the least."

She looks taken aback at my answer, so I plow forward.

"He's not stopped when I freeze time; he's by my side wherever I go through time. He's always with me."

"Are you…?" she stops herself and looks doubtful. "No, you can't be. This can't possibly be happening to my own daughter!" She throws her hands to the skies, and in a flash of lightning, we're tumbling through time.

I cough as the debris of wherever we are falls into place.

"What the hell?" I ask my mother. "Where did you take us?"

My mother shushes me and digs through a trunk. I slowly turn around and I realize that I'm back in my old apartment—the one where I had my mom…at least before the fire burned everything down. We are in my parents' bedroom, surrounded by the trinkets and mementos my mom had collected over the years.

With a huff Mom turns around and shakes a scroll in my face.

"Do you know what this is? Do you?" She sounds angry, but I can see genuine fear in her eyes. "This is the prophecy of the Time Benders. Read it." She throws the scroll at the floor in front of me.

I stare at the weird jumble of words on the page for a good minute before I realize that it's in some foreign language. That's how out of it I am.

"What does this even say?" I ask.

"Directly translated to today's version of the language, it is mush," my mother says disdainfully. "But if it is translated as it was meant to be thousands of years ago, then it tells a great deal. Do you wish to hear what it says?"

I look at her worried face, begging me to say no.

"Yes."

"Very well," my mother sighs. "Here is what is says…

"'_In the family of the women of time, there will be the one who changes everything. Before the Great War ends, the girl will be tested to great lengths in the mind and the heart. She will be the last of her family in the past, and destroy the line of the Time benders forever. With her will travel the boy born of destruction and hate, whom she will bring to her own Time to wreak destruction upon the world._'"

I sit back on my heals. What does that even mean?

"It might as well be your death certificate," my mother spits. "And the end of the world as we know it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Right here, Starr," my mother jabs at the paper, but her hand goes right through. "It says that you will perish in the past and bring an unstoppable force to the future. Metis predicts that one of her descendants will end herself and the world!"

"Who is Metis?" I ask. "And that can't possibly be true!" I exclaim.

My mother only laughs. "Metis is the beginning of our family line. All the proof is there, child, and I know of no one who can stop a prophecy of the gods."

I can feel my anger building. How could she? How could my own _mother_ believe that I was a devil-child who would single-handedly destroy the world?

"It's not true!" I shout at her, but she only laughs harder. "It's not true," I whisper again to myself. I keep repeating it until my head goes fuzzy again.

"It's not true, it's not true, it's not true, it's not true…"


	37. Chapter 37

_It's not true…_

"Starr, wake up!"

_It's not true, it's not true…_

"Seriously, what was that?"

_It's not true, it _can't _be true…_

"STARR!"

I reluctantly open my eyes to find Sokka shaking me awake. How did time get started again?

"Ugh," I groan as I sit up and hold my head in my hands. I need to dig in my bag for some Tylenol.

"Starr, what happened?" Sokka asks.

I motion for him to be quiet for a second. "I'd kind of like to know that myself," I tell him. "I don't really know. How long have I been out?"

Sokka glances up at the sun. "About an hour?" he guesses.

"An hour?" I yelp. Then I look around to see everything in motion. Oh no, was Zuko able to get out in time?

"Yeah, and you were out cold. Nothing would wake you. I had Aang try some Water, like Katara, but it didn't work."

"I'm fine now," I calm him down. "I just need some time to think."

Sokka looks unconvinced. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."


	38. Chapter 38

I walked through the camp and did my chores in a trance while my mother's words echo through my head. _It might as well be your death certificate… you will perish in the past and bring an unstoppable force to the future…my own daughter…_

It feels like years, but Zuko and Katara finally return the next night.

As soon as I see Appa land and Zuko talking to Aang, I make a decision.

I won't be the Time bender of the prophecy. I will not destroy my time, and I will not die. I have friends by my side that would protect me at any cost. _And I will not_, I vow, _be controlled by my ancestor's twisted prophecy_.

Just as I'm thinking the last words, I throw my arms around Zuko, and I feel myself finally relax for the first time since I read those words.

"Are you okay?" I search Zuko's eyes for some clue, any clue, that everything went off without a hitch.

"I'm fine," he shushes my worries with a kiss. "That pager of yours worked beautifully."

I smile, and then hug him tight again.

"Katara!" Aang exclaims as he rushes past towards the dock where our Water bender is sitting.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

Katara stares at the sunset as she thinks of her answer. "I'm doing fine."

"Zuko told me what you did," Aang tells her. "Or what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you."

"I wanted to do it," Katara admits. "I wanted to take out all my anger at him, but I couldn't. I don't know if it's because I'm too weak to do it, or if it's because I'm strong enough not to."

"She didn't kill the man," Zuko whispers in my ear.

I relax into his side. "She's strong," I whisper back. "I'm glad she didn't."

"You did the right thing," Aang insists. "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take in healing."

Katara stands and faces the boy.

"But I didn't forgive him," she explains. "I'll never forgive him." She hangs her head, and then looks up to Zuko. "But I am ready to forgive you," she says. Katara gives him a quick hug, and walks back towards our campsite.

"You were right about what Katara needed," Zuko says to Aang. "Violence wasn't the answer."

"It never is," the boy smiles.

"Then I have a question for you," Zuko looks the Avatar right in the eye. "What are you going to do when you face my father?"

Aang's eyes go wide and he doesn't give an answer. I lead Zuko away and back to the fire circle.

"So what happened here while we were gone?" he asks while I start dinner.

I freeze in my steps as I have a two-second debate if I should tell him about the prophecy. I feel myself weakening, and I say the words before I can stop myself.

"Nothing much," I continue walking as if I hadn't stopped. "I sketched a bit when I found some down time, but other than that, same old, same old. How about you?"

"We went to one of the islands where the Southern Raiders keep all of their information, then went to the ship that attacked the Southern Water Tribe."

"Did you find him there?"

"No, he had retired," Zuko says. "We had to track him all the way to his home, and Katara put on quite a show of bending, but in the end, she didn't do anything."

I nod and stir the pot. I didn't even notice what I poured into it. I quickly check the box I had pulled out: Mac & Cheese.


	39. Chapter 39

"So how long are we going to be camping?" I ask the group at dinner. "I mean, is there anywhere else we could go?"

"Not really," Toph said. "We're all wanted somehow, anywhere we go. Except for you, of course. Nobody even knows you exist."

"I don't think we could go back to the Temple, either," Aang adds.

"Yeah," Sokka comments. "Azula probably had it blown to bits."

"Shouldn't we be near the Fire Nation, though?" Suki asks. "The comet is only two weeks away."

"I know a place," Zuko pipes up. Everyone stares at him. "My family's beach house on Ember Island. We never go there anymore, and it's completely private. No one would bother us, or even know that we're there."

I almost laugh out loud. Even in this time, royalty have multiple houses!

"Are you sure it's okay?" Everyone asks at the same time.

Zuko nods. "I'm sure."


	40. Chapter 40

**The Ember Island Players**

"Doesn't it seem kind of weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" Katara asks the next day.

We had flown through the night to reach the Fire Nation undetected. The rest of the group donned their disguises from their bags, and they helped Suki and me steal some drying from the neighbors. They kind of remind me of the _Aladdin_ movie—tiny tops and billowy pants, with lots of jewelry.

"I told you," Zuko wipes the sweat from his forehead with a scowl, "my father hasn't come here since my family was actually happy. That was a long time ago. It's the last place anyone would think to look for us." He and Aang had just finished another grueling practice session, giving me a stunning view of his chiseled muscles.

"You guys are not going to believe this," Sokka runs in with Suki on his heels. "There's a play about us!"

"We were just in town, and we found this poster!" Suki adds as Sokka opens his roll of paper. On it is a crude drawing of Katara, Aang, and Sokka, with the dates and times of the performances.

Toph laughs, "What's on it? You know, because I can't see?"

"What?" I ask.

"How is that possible?" Katara questions.

"Listen to this," Sokka dramatically clears his throat. "'_The Boy in the Iceberg_ is a new production from acclaimed play write, Bu Won Tin, who scoured the globe gathering information about the Avatar, from the icy south pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage."

"Performed by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players," Suki finishes.

We're all silent for a moment.

"A merchant of cabbage?" I finally ask.

"Don't really know the story there," Aang scratches his head.

"Ugh, the Ember Island Players," Zuko groans. "My mother used to take me to see them. They butchered _Love Among the Dragons_ every year."

"Sokka," Katara asks, "do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves?"

"Come on, a day at the theater? This is the kind of wacky time-wasting nonsense I've been missing!"

"I don't know, guys," I say. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" Sokka speaks for everyone.


	41. Chapter 41

That night, we found ourselves in a private booth of the Ember Island Theater Company. Everybody filed in with smiles on their faces; Toph, Katara, and Aang were in front of Suki, Sokka, Zuko, and me. For some reason, Aang made a big deal about sitting next to Katara, so much so that a blush crept up his neck.

"Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section?" Toph complained. "My feet can't see a thing from up here."

"Don't worry," Katara comforts her. "I'll tell your feet what's happening."

The lights dim and the curtain rises, reminding me of the plays we put on at my school. Of course, they were much more technologically advanced that this one. I pull some candy out of my bag and pass it around as the dialogue starts.

The play opens with a guy and a young woman in a boat in the arctic, which I assume are Sokka and Katara. Of course, Sokka's gasping and pointing help this inference. Katara's character speaks first.

"Sokka, my only brother, we constantly roam these icy South Pole seas, and yet never do we find anything fulfilling."

Sokka's character speaks next: "All I want is a full feeling in my stomach. I'm starving!"

The entire audience laughs at the lame attempt at a joke.

"Is food the only thing on your mind?" Actor-Katara asks.

"Well, I'm trying to get it out of my mind and into my mouth. I'm starving!" Well I found Actor-Sokka's catch phrase of the night. Sokka was evidently angry about it.

"This is pathetic!" he whisper-yelled. "My jokes are way funnier than this!"

Toph laughed. "I think he's got you pegged."

Actor-Katara rises to say her next line. "Every day the world awaits a beacon to guide us, yet none appears! Still, we cannot give up hope, for hope is all we have. And we must never relinquish it, even unto our dying breath!" The actress breaks down in stage sobs.

The four of us in the back row stifle our giggles.

"Well, that's just silly," Katara grumbles. "I don't sound like that."

"Oh man," I gasp. "This writer's a genius!"

Suddenly, the stage lights up and the actors begin their dialogue again.

"There appears to be someone frozen in ice," Actor-Katara recites. "Perhaps for a hundred years! But who? Who is the boy in the iceberg?"

A cardboard iceberg floats by with a rocking boy-shape inside. _These are the finest special effects?_ I thought.

Aang leans forward to see his character's appearance. Actor-Katara karate chops the iceberg shape and, in a flash of stage lights, a bald-headed girl appears.

"Who are you, frozen boy?" Actor-Katara asks the 'frozen boy,' who is obviously a woman.

"I'm the Avatar, silly!" the young woman says, dancing across the stage. "I'm here to spread joy and fun!"

"Wait," Aang asks our group. "Is that a woman playing me?"

Suddenly, a Chinese Dragon shaped thing painted like Appa appears behind the cast onstage. Actor-Katara jumps back in fake fright.

"An Air Bender! My heart is so full of hope, that it's making me tear bend!" The actor breaks down in stage sobs again, hugging the 'Avatar.'

Actor-Sokka joins his cast mate. "My stomach is so empty, that it's making me tear bend! I need meat!" And he breaks down in tears as well.

Actor-Avatar points in the distance. "But wait! Is that a platter of meaty dumplings?"

"Where, where?"

Actor-Avatar giggles loudly. "Did I mention that I'm an incurable prankster?"

Aang looks about ready to blow a fuse. "I don't do that! That's not what I'm like! And I'm not a woman!"

Toph laughs again. "Oh, they nailed you, Twinkle Toes!"


	42. Chapter 42

The play continues in this fashion, with my friends being thoroughly disappointed in their characters. Even Zuko, who everybody thought would be showcased properly since he was the Fire Lord's son, was butchered. His scar was on the wrong side of his face, and he was a complete softy, doing everything his uncle said and drinking tea all the time. Momo the flying lemur was turned into a cat-monkey ventriloquist dummy, Suki was a girly-girl, and some king they once fought was a crazy old man with a killer rabbit. But, so Sokka tells me, they got that guy spot on.

Zuko even complained that they didn't even get the history of the story right. At one point his character captured Aang and some Blue spirit saved him, but Zuko told me that he was actually the Blue Spirit and a general captured Aang.

Katara buried her head at a part with her and another guy they had met, Jet. She told me that he was a psychopath who did more harm than good by fighting the Fire Nation. But in the play, they make it out to be that he did everything for Katara. The two were smitten onstage.

The funniest part came right before the intermission, with Sokka kissing the Moon Spirit good bye and Aang stomping all the Fire Nation ships to the ground at the North Pole dressed as a deranged blue fish spirit. Just the irony of it all was hilarious.

And don't get me started on the special effects. I mean, party streamers for the bending? But then again, they don't exactly have laser light shows in this time period.

"So far, this intermission is the best part of the play," Zuko grumbles after we step out onto the balcony.

"Apparently the playwright thinks I'm an idiot who tells bad jokes about meat all the time," Storms Sokka gnawing on a stick of jerky.

Suki smirks. "Yeah, you tell bad jokes about plenty of other topics."

"I know!" Sokka agrees.

Aang sighs. "At least the Sokka actor kind of looks like you. That woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all!"

"I don't know," I shrug.

Toph finishes my thought. "You are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys."

The Avatar rises with a groan.

"Relax, Aang," Katara soothes. "They're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving over-emotional speeches about hope all the time." We all stare at her. "What?"

"Yeah, that's not you at all," I laugh.

"Listen, friends, it's obvious that the playwright did his research," Toph crosses her arms. "I know it must hurt, but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth."


	43. Chapter 43

Katara claps with glee when Toph's character appears on stage. The man—that's right, _man_—playing her looks like a beefed up wrestler the director pulled right from the ring.

"You can't find an Earth bending master in the sky," Actor-Toph grunts lifting a prop rock. "You have to look underground."

Our group laughs at Toph's entrance; we're sure she's about to eat her words.

"Who are you?" Actor-Aang squeaks onstage.

"My name's Toph," Actor-Toph spits and flexes, "because it sounds like 'tough.' And that's just what I am!"

Toph cleans out her ear, looking confused. "Wait a minute, I sound like a guy! A really buff guy!"

"Well, Toph, what you hear up there is the truth," Katara throws her words back at the Earth bender. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't have cast it any other way!" She laughs. "At least it's not a flying bald lady."

I see Aang sink lower in his seat, his big ears turning bright red.

The next scene is between Zuko and his Uncle Iroh. Iroh thinks Zuko needs a haircut, but Actor-Zuko likes it and leaves his uncle behind. Next to me, real Zuko to run a hand through his own shaggy hair.

"Maybe I do need a haircut?" Zuko asks me.

"Hmm," I sigh, "nope, I like the long hair. Better than that pony tail you had in act one."

The next scene is Azula fighting and eventually escaping from the gang. Then is her drilling through the Earth Kingdom city Ba Sing Se, only to be defeated by Aang. Still in Ba Sing Se, the rebel Jet from first act goes crazy and attacks the group. But a floating boulder lands on top of him

"Did Jet just…die?" Zuko asks.

Sokka scratches his head. "You know, it was really unclear."

I shush them as the curtain opens for the next scene. It looks like an underground cavern filled with jewels. Actor-Zuko and Actor-Katara are alone.

"You know prince Zuko," Actor-Katara says, "I really find you attractive."

"You don't have to make fun of me!" Actor-Zuko snarls.

Actor-Katara leans in close. "But I _mean_ it. I've had eyes for you since the day you first captured me."

I unintentionally glare at Katara sitting in front of me while she slumps down, trying to make herself invisible. Zuko squeezes my shoulder as he puts his arm around me. Aang gives Zuko a sideways glance, which proved hard to do from the row in front of us, but he managed.

"Wait!" Actor-Zuko shouts dramatically. "I thought you were the Avatar's girl!" Aang nods his approval.

Actor-Katara laughs. "The Avatar? Why, he's like a little brother to me!" She laughs again. "I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way." I risk another glance at Aang and see him deflate a little in his seat.

"Besides," Actor-Katara continues, "how could he _ever_ find out about this?" She and Zuko embrace onstage, much to the delight of the audience. After all, they didn't see that plot twist coming—and obviously neither did Aang. He rose and angrily stormed out.

I barely paid attention to the next few scenes, which involved Zuko betraying his uncle; Mai and Ty Lee fighting the group, then Actor-Aang going into the Avatar State and ghetto stomping them all—at least until Azula shoots her with lightning.

Before I know it, it's time for another intermission.

"It seems like every time there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out alive," I comment.

Suki has the same idea. "You guys lose a lot."

"You're one to talk, Suki," Sokka crosses his arms. "Didn't Azula take you captive? Oh, that's right—she did!"

"Are you _trying_ to get on my bad side?"

"Just saying."

"Does anyone know where Aang is?" Katara walks up looking worried.

Annoyance twists itself onto Sokka's face. "He went to get me fire gummies, like, ten minutes ago…and I'm still waiting!"

The Water bender wanders towards the terrace. "I'm going to check outside."

A kid wearing one of the souvenir Avatar Aang hats whirls around the corner with a gleeful squeal. I contemplate buying one, but soon realize that I don't have any money—we spent the last of it on some food inland.

Sokka straightens up. "Hey, Suki, what are the chances you can get me backstage? I got some jokes I want to give to the actor me."

I think Sokka's in for it, I really do. Suki says, in this deadly, threatening voice, "I'm an elite warrior who's trained for many years in the art of stealth." Her face brightens. "I think I can get you backstage."

As they wander off, Toph comes out of hiding. "Jeez, everyone's getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual, Zuko, and that's saying something."

"You don't get it," Zuko explains angrily. "It's different for you. You get a muscly version of yourself taking down ten bad guys at once and making sassy remarks."

Toph smiles. "Yeah, that's pretty great."

"But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face. My uncle, he's always been on my side. Even when things were bad, he was there for me. He taught me so much, and how do I repay him? With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret, and I may never get to redeem myself."

"You have redeemed yourself to your uncle," I pat his shoulder.

"You don't realize it, but you already have," Toph adds.

"How do you know?" Zuko seems intrigued.

"I once had a conversation with the guy," the young Earth bender explains, "and all he would talk about was you."

Zuko flips back his hood and smiles. "Really?"

"Yeah, and it was kind of annoying," Toph sasses. "But it was also very sweet. All your uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us. He'd be proud." She suddenly reaches out and slugs him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" he exclaims. "What was that for?"

Toph smiles. "That's how I show affection."

We sit in silence for a few moments.

"At least you've seen your characters so far," I grumble. "I'll be lucky if I get so much as a line."


	44. Chapter 44

"Here's what you missed," Sokka whispers when I return from the bathroom. "We went to the Fire Nation, Aang got better, Katara was the painted lady, and I got a sword, and I think Combustion Man died."

"Did I get an entrance?" I ask eagerly.

"Um no, but aren't you supposed to be a secret anyway?"

I say nothing and turn to the play. Actor-Sokka makes some joke, prompting real Sokka to point and gasp, "I told him to say that!"

I don't really pay attention to the rest. That is, until real Sokka says confusedly, "But that's the end, unless…this is the future!"

Our group sits up a little straighter, dying to see what the Fire Nation has dreamed up for our ending.

The Actor-Fire Lord harnesses the power of the comet and prepares to destroy us, while Actor-Azula delivers him messages of our entrance into the castle. Actor-Fire Lord Ozai tasks Actor-Azula with killing Actor-Zuko, but he wants the Avatar for himself.

Actor-Azula and Actor-Zuko argue for a little about the rightful heir and who is really the enemy, but they soon get on with the paper party streamer special effects. Before long, Actor-Azula overpowers him, and Actor-Zuko dies, crying, "Honor!" The entire audience cheers and claps. I feel Zuko deflate beside me and I give his hand a squeeze. Was he really that unpopular in the Fire Nation?

The scene flips to Actor-Aang versus Actor-Ozai, with taunts thrown back and forth. With every word Actor-Ozai says about the comet making his unstoppable, I see the real Avatar quake with fear. _That poor kid_, I think,_ having to take on this monster all on his own._

They break out the party streamers again, but as soon as they run out, a wave of fabric fire engulfs Actor-Aang and she falls dramatically to the ground.

Actor-Ozai makes a victory speech, much to the delight of the audience. I can't even hear his words over the applause and cheers. I don't even see him wither, since I'm too busy sharing frightened and shocked looks with the rest of my group.


	45. Chapter 45

"That wasn't a good play," Zuko laments as we make our way back the beach house.

"I'll say," Aang agrees.

"No kidding," Katara snorts.

"Horrible," Suki admits.

"You said it," Toph says.

Ahead of Zuko and myself I see Sokka scratch his head. "But the effects were decent."

"They were party streamers," I gripe as I resist the urge to kick him. Party streamers are decent effects? "And don't get me started on the ninjas running around onstage as if they couldn't be seen moving all the props."


	46. Chapter 46

**The Lord of the Melons**

Before we know it, we've been on the island for a week. Zuko decides to test Aang in a duel to see how far he's advanced. We all gather to watch.

Aang throws a wall of flame, which Zuko not so easily deflects.

"More ferocious!" Zuko yells as he flips backwards. "Imagine striking through your opponent's heart."

"Who wants a nice, cool glass of watermelon juice?" Katara holds up two tiny melons.

Aang leaps towards the Water bender. "Me, me!

"Hey, your lesson's not over yet!" Zuko yanks his shirt back. Aang tries pulling with all his twelve-year-old might to get to Katara.

"Come on, Zuko, just take a break," I say as I loll against the steps, time bending the leaves that pass. "What's the big deal?"

Zuko glares at Katara, but he lets Aang go. He makes a beeline for the juice. "Fine," Zuko snaps. "If you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead."

"Maybe Zuko's right," Sokka comments after Zuko stalks off. "Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy. I know just the thing to change that." He stands and rips off his clothes. "BEACH PARTY!"

We all run to the sand and surf and have a blast. Katara freezes herself a surf board right from the water and shoots around on the water. Suki and I work on our tans. Sokka gathers seaweed and buckets of water to play in the sand.

"Check out my giant Appa sculpture!" Aang calls to us.

Toph crosses her arms with a smirk. "Not bad, Twinkle-Toes, but I've been working on my sand bending. You're going to love this!"

She shoves her hands to the ground and the sand melts away to form a miniature city in the hole left behind.

"Not bad, Toph," I take off my sunglasses to admire the miniature houses and people. "Is this the Ba Sing Se I've heard so much about?"

"Wow," Aang breathes. "You've even made a little Earth King and Basso!"

"Try and top that, Sokka!" I call over my shoulder. My eyes bug out as he unveils his masterpiece.

"Ta-da!"

We stare at it for a moment. It's really just a mound of sand with seaweed slapped on top, two depressions for eyes, starfish nose, and shells for a bucktoothed smile.

"Is that supposed to be…?" I start, but trail off.

"…a blubbering glob monster?" Aang guesses.

Sokka looks as if we've personally offended him. "No! It's Suki!"

Aang's jaw drops while Toph and I roll in the sand, laughing.

"Suki, we'll all understand if you break up with him over this," Toph gasps between giggles.

"I think it's sweet," Suki smiles. Sokka plants a big kiss on her cheek.

"But it doesn't even look like—" Aang is cut off mid-sentence by a giant fire-blast destroying Sokka's sculpture, shooting sand in every direction. We look up to the source and see Zuko leaping off the cliff overlooking the beach. He's shooting Fire at Aang, causing the kid to run in terror. They run across the beach, destroying all of our sand art.

"Zuko!" I shriek.

Aang pokes his head around Sand-Appa. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching you a lesson!" Zuko fires a blast at the Avatar.

Aang Air bends himself to the top of the cliff and Zuko skillfully climbs after him. Just as they disappear, Katara comes in from the water.

"What happened?"

"Zuko's gone crazy!" Sokka storms, trying and failing to put his 'masterpiece' back together. "I made a sand sculpture of Suki and he destroyed it!" He digs through the sand for a moment. "Oh, and he's attacking Aang."

I shoot him a glare before chasing after the fighting Fire benders with the rest of the group on my heels. We find them on the roof of the beach house, a trail of Fiery destruction in their wake.

"Get a grip before I blast you off this roof!" Aang is shouting at my boyfriend.

Zuko's face is set. "Go ahead and do it." He shoots the biggest fireball I've ever seen at the boy. Aang leaps away, evading and hiding like on the beach. Katara and I bend some water from the ocean to put out the fires leading to and on the house respectively.

"What has gotten into him?" I wonder out loud.

Katara looks murderous. "Whatever it is, he'll be dead before he hurts Aang."

Just as I get my footing on the uneven roof, it shakes and rumbles. I see something shoot out of one of the walls and into the weeds below. I deftly Air bend myself to the ground and join Suki, Sokka, Toph, and Katara cornering Zuko.

"What's wrong with you?" Katara screams. "You could've hurt Aang!"

"What's wrong with me?" Zuko storms back. "What's wrong with all of you? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's comet is only three days away?"

We all stare at him. Even I can see his logic—where does him attacking Aang come in?

"Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?" Zuko asks.

Aang steps forward. "About Sozin's comet…I was actually going to wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came."

Well this is news to me. "After?"

"I'm not ready," Aang admits. "I still need more time to master Fire bending."

"And frankly, your Earth bending could still use some work, too" Toph adds.

I nod. "Not to mention your Time bending. But you all knew Aang was going to wait?"

Zuko looks hurt. "All of you?"

"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's going to lose," Sokka explains. He sees Aang's dejected face. "No offense."

"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the Comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war," Katara says. "But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse."

"You're wrong," Zuko and I say at the same time. I gesture for Zuko to continue.

"It's about to get worse than you can even imagine…The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about and wanted for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back—"

"Enough about your precious honor, get on with it!" Toph explodes.

Zuko glares at her, but continues. "The general announced that Ba Sing Se, while under our control, was still rebelling. The fighting had prevented them from achieving total victory in the Earth Kingdom. He recommended after the eclipse was over and the invasion completed, pulling all their resources in attacking the City. My father asked me personally if I thought adding more troops would stop these rebellions. I'm ashamed to say I gave him what he wanted.

"I said that the people of the Earth Kingdom were proud and can endure anything as long as they have hope. It gave my father the idea to destroy their hope. Azula recommended taking their hope and land and burning it to the ground. My father decreed that the Comet would be used to destroy the Earth Kingdom like it was last used to wipe out Air Nomads.

"I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance. But once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."

Katara had collapsed to the ground. "I can't believe this."

"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil," Sokka remarks.

Aang looks crushed. "What am I going to do?"

"I know you're scared and you're not ready to save the world," I pipe up, "but it looks like you don't really have a choice."

"If you don't defeat the fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore."

Instead of breaking down, Aang gets angry. "Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan sooner?"

"I didn't think I had to!" Zuko snaps right back. "I assumed you were still going to fight it before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait!"

"This is bad," Aang puts his head in his hands and moves a bit away from us. "This is really, really bad."

"Aang, you don't have to do this alone," Katara says.

"Yeah, if we all fight the Fire Lord together, we've got a shot at taking him down," adds Toph.

"All right!" Sokka cheers. "Team Avatar is back! Air" —he pointed to Aang— "Water" —Katara— "Earth" —Toph— "Fire" —Zuko— "Time" —and me. He slung an arm around Suki. "Fan and sword!"

Aang rises from the ground. "Fighting the fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever had to do together. But I wouldn't want to do it any other way."


	47. Chapter 47

"There's one technique you need to know before facing my father," Zuko says back at the courtyard of the beach house. "How to re-direct lightning. If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's energy against them."

"That's like Water bending," Aang lights up.

"Exactly," Zuko demonstrated the technique. "My uncle invented this himself by studying Water benders. The lightning enters your fingers, and you guide it with your other hand through your arm, into your belly, and out your other hand."

"So have you ever re-directed lightning before?" I ask.

"Once," Zuko answers. "Against my father."

"What did that feel like?" Aang asks.

Zuko stops, lost in his memory. "Exhilarating…but terrifying. You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know that if you make one wrong move, it's over."

Aang tugs on his robe and gives a nervous laugh. "Well, not 'over' over. I mean there's always Katara and a little spirit water action, right?"

"Actually, I used it all up after Azula shot you," Katara sighs.

"Oh." Aang droops.

Zuko brings him back to focus. "You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life, before he takes yours."

For some reason, I can't picture sweet tempered Aang killing anybody, even somebody as evil as the Fire Lord. It just doesn't suit him. Actually, in all the time I've known him, he hasn't even squashed a bug. And believe me, there have been a lot of those. Yuck.

"Yeah," Aang said quietly, "I'll just do that."


	48. Chapter 48

"Gather around, Team Avatar," Sokka calls us to a mountain later that day. He put some spare clothes from the attic and a giant watermelon onto a pike and stuck it in the ground. "In order to take out the Fire Lord—or in this case, the Melon Lord—Our timing has to be perfect." He grabbed a stick to draw in the dirt. "First, Suki and I will draw his Fire. Then Katara and Zuko charge in with some liquidy-hot offense. And while the Melon Lord is distracted, Aang swoops in and BAM!" he draws the stick through the smiling melon's face. "He delivers the final blow."

"Uh, what about me?" Toph asks.

"Right now, you're the Melon Lord's forces," Sokka explains.

"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?"

"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic."

"Sweetness."

I hold up my hand. "And what about me?"

"Same as Toph, you're the forces."

"How come I'm not part of the offense?" I stand up, angry. "Everybody else is!"

"Because everybody else will actually be there when we attack!" Sokka rises as well.

If he had told me to vacation to Mexico, I couldn't be more confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, you told us when you first came that you could be pulled away at any moment the Spirits deem right, and we'll never have you back! You won't even remember us. How could we possibly count on you when you could be gone in the blink of an eye?"

I hadn't even thought of those words since my mother said them to me a month ago. But he spoke the truth. When would I get pulled back? I had no control over Spirits, or when I came and left. I resign myself to Co-Melon Lord with Toph. "Fine."

"To your battle stations!" Sokka whoops to the rest of the group. As they race down the mountain, Toph and I take our positions. Just before they reach the tree line, Zuko looks back and gives me a sad smile. What does me leaving mean for us? How could I possibly go back home and forget all of this? Would I always know that something is missing in my life?

No, I decide. I will not forget Zuko. Let me forget Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Azula, the Fire Lord, and all of this war madness, but let me keep Zuko.

"Mwahahahaha!" Toph cackles at the signal from Sokka. In the midst of my day dreaming, she's concocted a circle of oil cover rocks for her use surrounded by the flaming torches left by Sokka.

I see Sokka and Suki coming, as per the plan, and Earth bend some rock soldiers to attack. Toph lights one of her rocks and sends it flying toward them as well, narrowly missing Sokka.

"Watch it Toph!" He shakes his fist at us.

Toph is too caught up in her excitement. "I'm not Toph! I am Melon-Lord! Mwahahahaha!"

She readies another rock and sends it flying towards Katara and Zuko. I bring up more rock soldiers and, one by one, they're taken out with Fire and Ice.

I keep attacking with rock soldiers, occasionally sending jets of white hot flame to ease my anger. Soon, Sokka gives another signal and I spot Aang out of the corner of my eye. I shoot a wall of Fire at him, but he powers through it with some Water bending and lands easily in front of the Melon Lord. Just as the Avatar's about to smash his head in half, he stops and lowers his staff.

"What are you waiting for? Take him out!" Zuko shouts from across the mountain.

Aang only shakes his head. "I can't."

Katara and I share a look. She looks like she wants to help, but doesn't move. I catch Zuko's eye and he shakes his head.

"What's wrong with you?" Sokka storms up to the kid. "If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now."

Aang keeps his head down. "I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself."

Sokka takes out his sword and deftly slices the melon in two. Aang closes his eyes and winces.

"There," Sokka snaps. "That's how it's done."


	49. Chapter 49

"I have a surprise for everyone!" Katara sings as she enters the dining room holding a scroll. Everybody was chowing down Ramen noodles from my bag.

"I knew it!" Toph smiles. "You _did_ have a thing with Haru!"

We all stare at Katara, whose face turns a delicate shade of pink. "Um, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" She unfurls the scroll to reveal a picture. "Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute?"

We all laugh, but Zuko keeps a straight face.

"Oh, lighten up," I swat his arm. "She's just teasing."

"That's not me," he reveals. "That's my father."

We stare at the picture some more as what he said sinks in. How could this adorable little baby become the evil and cruel Fire Lord about to destroy an entire race of people?

"But he looks so sweet and innocent," Suki protests.

Zuko shrugs. "Yeah, but that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst father in the history of fathers."

"But he's still a human being," I hear Aang call from across the room. He was sitting separately from the rest of us.

"You're going to defend him?" Zuko looks incredulous.

"No, I agree with you," Aang stands and walks over to us. "Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him. But there's got to be another way…"

"Like what?" I ask. "It's not like you can just take his awful personality away from him."

"I don't know," Aang eyes are downcast, but he suddenly perks up. "Maybe we can make some big pots of glue, and then I could use glue bending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore!"

I shake my head.

"Yeah, then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again," Zuko suggests.

"Do you really think that would work?" Aang asks, oblivious to the sarcasm in Zuko's voice.

"No!"

Aang sighs and begins pacing the length of the room. "This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like."

"Sure you can, you're the Avatar!" Sokka puts down his Ramen. "If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you."

Aang shakes with rage. "This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understands the position I'm in!"

I try to comfort my friend. "Aang, we do understand. It's just—"

"Just what, Starr? What?!"

"We're trying to help!"

"Then when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!"

"Aang, don't walk away from this!" I yell at his retreating back. Just as I get up to follow him, I feel a warm hand on my shoulder.

"Let him go," Zuko says quietly. "He needs time to sort it out by himself."


	50. Chapter 50

I have a really weird dream that night. A beautiful island moves through the water, propelled by nothing. It's covered with ferns and trees so dense I can't see across it, though it can't be more than fifty yards across. It comes closer to the shore of the beach I'm standing on. Without hesitation, I walk right into the calm water without breaking stride. As my head slips beneath the waves, the dream changes.

The water no longer calm tries to crush me from all sides, forces its way into my lungs, suffocating me. I try to claw my way to the surface, only to find a vacuum with no air. I struggle against a sudden undertow to reach the sandy shore, but to no avail. In my frustration, I scream at the top of my lungs, but cannot hear it for the lack of air. Suddenly, a shape appears on the dark sand. I think it's a person. He—or she—is holding a light, but it does not reach their face. The hooded stranger only stands there.

Unexpectedly, I am able to swim to shore, as if the warmth of the fire-light is calling me. The flames leap out of the lantern and dance around the stranger and me.

"Who are you?" I ask, but the stranger does not seem to hear me. (S)he only gives me a message scrawled in unfamiliar writing on a scroll.

_Your Time is running Out_ is all it says.

"Running out?" I look up at the figure, but (s)he's vanished, leaving me alone in the comfortable circle of fire. "What does this mean…?"


	51. Chapter 51

We gather by Appa the next day to leave for Ba Sing Se.

"Okay, that's everything," Sokka announces.

"No it's not," Toph calls from the fountain. "Where's Aang?"

We all share a glance before scattering all over the property. Appa calmly eats his hay. We search the attic, the woods and forests, the basement, and the entire house. But the Avatar has vanished without a trace once again.

"Aang?"

"Aang!"

"Come on, lazy bones, let's go!"

"Where are you?"

"He's not in the library!"

"Aang?"

"Not in the mountains!"

"He's not anywhere," I wipe sweat from my brow when I meet up with Sokka, Suki, and Katara on one of the balconies.

"He left his staff," Sokka reaches for the stick of pine. "That's so strange."

Zuko and Toph enter one after the other.

"Aang's not in the house." Zuko reports. "Let's check the beach."


	52. Chapter 52

Gulls caw and swoop through the air as Aang had done on so many occasions. Back on the beach, I get the strange feeling of déjà vu. I know I had been here yesterday, but it wasn't that. It's just out of reach…

"There's his foot prints!" Sokka points to the feet leading to the surf. "But the trail ends here." Sokka's right, the foot prints lead right into the water. But only one set.

"So he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki suggests.

"Maybe he was captured," Katara's face goes dark.

"I don't think so," Sokka and I bend down to look at the prints.

"There's no sign of a struggle," I add.

Toph runs her feet across the sand, feeling for any hint or clue as to where he went. "I bet he ran away again."

"No way," Sokka swears. "He left behind his glider and Appa."

"Then what do you think happened, oh sleuthy one?"

Sokka rises from the ground, finger in the air as if proving a point. "It's pretty obvious. Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle. He's definitely on a Spirit World journey!"

"But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko points out.

Sokka deflates. "Oh yeah, forgot about that."

"So Aang's gone missing before?" I ask. "Is it like a regular thing for him?"

"Yeah," Toph says. "But he usually leaves some clue for where he went. Now we have nothing."

"Then he's got to be somewhere on Ember Island," Katara decides. "Let's split up and look for him."

"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph zooms to his side and hugs his arm as if calling the best swing on the playground as hers. Everyone stares at her, me with an oh-no-she-didn't gleam in my eye.

"What?" She says noticing our silence. "Everyone else went on a life-changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn."

We all sigh and split up the remaining areas. Sokka takes to the air on Appa, Katara and Suki search the town, and Zuko and Toph walk to the forest. I stay on the sand where his footsteps disappear, by I can't say why. Something is calling to me, just out of reach, but I can't grasp it.


	53. Chapter 53

Sokka lands Appa right in front of where we were all musing on the stairs of the house. "Judging by the looks on your faces, I'm guessing you guys didn't find Aang either?"

"No," I shake my head.

"It's like he just disappeared," Zuko hangs his head.

Toph perks up. "Hey, wait a minute. Has anyone noticed that Momo is missing too?"

Sokka turns to Appa, horrified. "Oh no. I knew it was only a matter of time!" He falls to his knees in front of the sky bison. "Appa ate Momo!" Sokka wrenches Appa's cave of a mouth wide open. "Momo, I'm coming for you, buddy!"

"Sokka, Appa didn't eat Momo," Katara huffs. "He's probably with Aang."

"That's just what Appa wants you to think!" Sokka shouts from inside Appa's mouth.

"Dude, if you're not careful, Appa's going to eat you," I point out.

Zuko stands and takes charge. "Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found, and the comet is only two days away."

_Your Time is running Out…_ The words dance through my head, but I brush them aside.

"What should we do, Zuko?" Katara and I ask at the same time.

"I don't know," the Fire Prince admits. Appa spits Sokka out, and we all turn to Zuko. "Why are you all looking at me?"

"Well, you are kind of an expert at tracking Aang," Katara accuses. I see Sokka slip in Appa's saliva coating both the ground and his clothes.

"Yeah," Toph adds. "If anyone's got experience tracking the Avatar, it's you."

Zuko thinks for a moment. "Get on the bison."


	54. Chapter 54

"Zuko, I don't want to tell you how to do your job," Sokka says with all the intention of telling Zuko how to do his job, "but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."

"Just trust me," Zuko murmured.

I give his hand, the one not holding Appa's reigns, a quick squeeze. He gives me a nod and snaps the reigns again. "Yip-yip."

We soon arrive at a noisy bar, not unlike the ones some of my sluttier friends back home have crashed with their fake ids. Music is playing loudly, people chatter drunkenly and there are some pretty weird modes of transportation hitched to the post outside, including what I think is an overgrown mole.

"And the reason you've brought us to a sketchy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" I demand clutching his hand.

"June," he points to a beautiful young woman sitting alone, calmly sipping her drink, daring anyone to come closer. She seemed wild and dangerous, but held her own against the more muscled men in the tavern. Before her eyes, she flips a man over who tries to approach her all while calmly sipping her drink.

"Oh, yeah!" Sokka remembers. "That weird bounty hunter with the giant mole."

"You went out with a bounty hunter?" I hiss under my breath as we approach her.

"Mole?" Suki scans June's face as she takes on the man's friends single handedly. "Her skin is flawless."

"No, she has this giant mole creature she rides around on."

"A shirshu," Zuko corrects. "It's the only thing that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the world. It's the one shot we have of finding him."

June finishes off the men avenging their fallen friend and neatly catches her (miraculously still filled) drink.

Toph crosses her arms and smiles. "I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her."

I resist the urge to kick my friend.


	55. Chapter 55

**The Old Masters**

"I remember her! She helped you attack us!"

"Yup, back in the good old days, Sokka," Zuko steels himself and walks up to June.

"Oh great," June swirls her drink. "It's Prince Pouty. Where's your creepy grandpa?"

"My uncle," Zuko corrects, "and he's not here."

"I see you worked things out with your girlfriend," June gestures to Katara.

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Katara shouts the same time Zuko says, "She's not my girlfriend!"

"Actually, I am." I give June a small wave hello. When were Katara and Zuko together? I mean, why else would June say something about it?

"Okay, okay, sheesh," June calms us down. "I was only teasing. So what do you want?"

Zuko gets his face back to a normal color and answers. "I need your help finding the Avatar."

"Humph, doesn't sound too fun," June drawls as she takes a sip of her beverage.

I clench my fists. "Does the end of the world sound like more fun?"


	56. Chapter 56

When we walk outside, we find June's shirshu facing off against Appa. They stop at the sight of us. June tosses Nyla an uncooked steak and turns to face us.

"Okay, who's got something with the Avatar's scent on it?"

Katara climbs onto Appa's saddle. "I have Aang's staff." She tosses the stick to June, who presents it to Nyla. Nyla spends a good few minutes turning in circles, but eventually collapses to the ground and covers her face.

"Well what does that mean?" Zuko asks.

"It means your friend's gone," June smirks.

I feel my fists clench again. "We already know that! Why else would we be here?"

"No, I mean he's 'gone' gone," June corrects herself. "He doesn't exist."

"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist?" Sokka asks. "Do you mean he's…you know, dead?"

"Nope," June scratches Nyla. "We could find him if he were dead. Wow, it's a real head scratcher. See you." She jumps onto the shirshu's back.

"Helpful," Toph grumbles. "Real helpful."

"Wait!" Zuko runs up to the beast. "I have another idea. There' sonly one other person in this world who can help us face the Fire Lord. I'll be right back with a smell sample."

Zuko rummages around in Appa's saddle, leaving us to our own devices.

"Wait a second," Suki realizes. "Starr, you're a time bender! Why can't you just, you know, turn back the clocks so we can see where Aang went?"

I snort loudly. "You don't think I've already tried that? All I saw was this weird dream I had. There was a floating island, I went on it, then I was attacked so I came back to shore. End of story, no Aang in sight."

"That's weird," Katara mutters. "Do you think you were seeing what Aang was seeing?"

"If I was, Aang wouldn't be gone. I said I came back!"

"Got it," Zuko comes back pinching his nose. The rest of us hurry to do the same.

Sokka groans, or at least tries to with his nose blocked. "You saved your uncle's smelly sandal?"

"I think it's kind of sweet," Toph smiles.

Nyla leaps forward and sniffs the sandal with relish.

"Let's do this," June smirks. We leap onto Appa while she yanks the reins on Nyla, and off we go.


	57. Chapter 57

"We're going to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asks after nearly eighteen straight hours of travel.

"Your uncle's somewhere beyond the wall," June calls out to us. "Nyla's getting twitchy, so he can't be too far. Good luck." She snaps Nyla's reins and takes off opposite the city's wall.

"It's been a long day," I turn to the group. "Let's camp and start our search again at dawn?"

"Sounds good."

"I'm tired."

"Good night!"

_You must be decisive…_

I look around; no one could have said those words, they were already asleep. And I surely never heard that voice before. It kind of sounded like my grandfather: calm, collected, and wise. Whatever, I think as I lean against Zuko for some rest. I'll figure it out tomorrow.


	58. Chapter 58

"Who's there?" I blearily shout after what seems like five seconds of sleep. Before the words even finish echoing against the wall, a wall of fire surrounds our group. Through the flames, I see a bunch of old men wearing matching deep blue robes with a wide white collar.

"Well, look who's here!" the nearest one cackles. One of his eyes is bigger than the other and he has liver spots all over, with quite a few missing teeth. I have no idea why the others smile at the sight of him, because whoever he is, he looks pretty crazy to me. Without thinking, I shoot a bolt of purple energy into the sky and everything around us freezes.

"What's going on?" Toph asks the group. "We're surrounded by old people!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," I say. I wave my hand again—old people we can certainly handle.

Katara steps forward. "Not just any old people, Starr. These are great masters and friends of ours! Pakku!" She bows to the first old man, who has a thin mustache and hair as long as mine. If he had kinder eyes and a beard, I'd probably call him Dumbledore by mistake, since he holds himself so dignified.

"It is respectful to bow to an old master," Pakku mirrors Katara's movement, "but how about a hug for your new grandfather?"

"That's so exciting!" Katara exclaims as she throws her arms around the old man. Sokka screams. "You and Gran-Gran must be so happy to have found each other again."

"I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything," Pakku smiles.

Sokka, of course, ruins the nice moment by squeezing the poor guy in a fierce hug and saying, "Welcome to the family, Gramp-Gramp!"

"You can still just call me Pakku." Pakku pushes Sokka off with strength I didn't believe possible for the guy.

"How about Grandpakku?" Sokka tries.

Pakku stares. "No."

"And this," Katara draws our attention to the second old man, "was Aang's first Fire bending teacher."

"Jeong-Jeong," the man introduces himself. His face seems kinder than Pakku's, despite the scar running through his right eye. His mustache and beard remind of the Chinese food guy back in New York, though the hair seems like it would be a better fit on some rapper. Of course, Jeong-Jeong's is white rather than pink or some other obscure color.

"Master Piandao," Sokka bows to the next man, who isn't as old as the rest, but sports the awkward ponytail bun most Fire Nation people wear.

"Hello Sokka," Piandao returns Sokka's bow.

"So wait," I hold up a hand. "How do you all know each other?"

"All old people know each other," the crazy-looking guy responds, "don't you know that?" He cackles again.

"We're all part of the same ancient secret society," Piandao says, "a group that transcends the divisions of the four nations."

"The Order of the White Lotus," Zuko smiles.

Crazy-Old-Guy nods. "That's the one!"

Jeong-Jeong takes over. "The White Lotus has always been about philosophy and beauty and truth. But about a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important."

"It came from a Grand Lotus," Pakku says, "your uncle, Iroh of the Fire Nation."

Toph steps forward. "Well that's who we're looking for."

"Then we'll take you to him," Piandao declares.

"Wait," Crazy-Old-Guy interrupts us. "Someone's missing from your group. Someone very important…where's Momo?" He shoves himself in my face, but I Air bend blast myself away. I'm all for "respect your elders," but I'm also for this thing called _personal space_.

"He's gone," I say, "and so is Aang."

"Oh well, so long as they have each other," Crazy-Old-Guy rejoins the line of other old men. "I'm sure we have nothing to worry about. Let's go!"

_Only justice will bring peace…_

I shake my head again as I follow the rest of the group. What were these strange voices? This one sounded more like my mother, before she went crazy calling me a traitor. I shake my head again and press forward. Maybe they would stop soon?


	59. Chapter 59

"So, Bumi," Sokka says to Crazy-Old-Guy as we walk through the ruins of Ba Sing Se, "how did you end up escaping your imprisonment in Omashu?"

"Escape?" Bumi stretches his neck. "I didn't escape. Everybody else escaped! There I was, back in Omashu, waiting for just the right moment. I didn't know what or when, but I knew I'd know it when I knew it! During the eclipse, I used Earth bending to open my coffin-cell and take back my city! The guards had no Fire power, and it was payback time! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Bumi cackles up a storm.

"Wow," Suki admires. "You took back your whole city all by yourself!"

Bumi nods. "So what about you guys? Did you do anything interesting on the day of the eclipse?"

Zuko and Sokka share a glance.

"Nah," Zuko says at the same time Sokka scoffs, "No, not really."

_Aang, you must actively shape your own destiny…and the destiny of the world…_

Aang? Why would a random voice in my head call _me_ Aang? Surely my own personal voices would know that my name is Starr? It makes no sense! Unless…what was it my mother said…?

_…As a time bender, you have a great spiritual connection with the Spirit World, since you were pulled and pushed through time by their whims. Do not scoff any whispers or wisps you see or hear, for it could be the Spirits telling you something important…_

Is it possible that I am hearing the Spirits themselves? But they aren't talking to me, they are speaking with Aang! Katara said that the Avatar is the bridge between the physical and Spirit worlds…Maybe I can only hear the Spirits' side of the conversation?


	60. Chapter 60

"Well, here we are," Bumi croaked after another hour of walking to the camp. He Earth bends a rock out of our way to reveal a huge city of tents and smoking embers. "Welcome to Old People Camp!"

"Where…where is he?" Zuko asks the old men.

Piandao points to a tent in the middle, obviously of importance since all other tents are facing it. "Your uncle is in there, Prince Zuko."

As the others move off in search of an open spot, I follow Zuko to his uncle's tent. He collapses in front of it in defeat.

"Are you okay?" I place a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'm not okay," he says to the grass. "My uncle hates me, I know it. He loved me and supported me in every way he could, and I still turned against him. How can I even face him?"

I kneel next to him. "Zuko, you're sorry for what you did, right?"

"More sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life."

"Then he'll forgive you." Zuko gives me a look of hopeful disbelief. "He will," I say again.

Zuko takes a deep breath and moves towards the tent.

"Do you want me to go with you?" I ask.

Zuko shakes his head. "No, this is something I have to do on my own."


	61. Chapter 61

"I am Avatar Yangchen, young Air bender," says a cool female voice in the mist.

This is so not my normal dream. Everything's all weirdly misty, like I should know where I am, but I don't. it kind of reminds me of the last Harry Potter movie when they're in King's Cross, but I'm pretty sure I'm in a forest of some kind. I start running towards the voices.

"Avatar Yangchen," I hear Aang, "the monks always taught me that all life was sacred, even the life of the tiniest spider-fly caught in its own web."

"Yes, all life is sacred."

"I know, I'm even a vegetarian! I've always tried to solve my problems by being quick or clever, and I've only had to use violence for necessary defense, and I've certainly never used it to take a life."

The voices are getting closer, but I can tell I'm still far away. But how can I hear them if I'm so far?

"Avatar Aang, I know that you're a gentle spirit and the monks have taught you well, but this isn't about you." Wow, talk about tough love. Yangchen continues, "This is about the world."

"But the monks taught me that I had to detach myself from the world so my spirit could be free."

"Many great and wise Air Nomads have detached themselves and achieved spiritual enlightenment. But the Avatar can never do it, because your sole duty is to the world. Here is my wisdom for you: Selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world."

I emerge into a hexagonal clearing in enough time to see the glowing female monk vanish in a breeze. Aang hangs his head.

"I guess I don't have a choice, Momo," he says to the lemur. "I have to kill the Fire Lord."

I reach out for Aang to comfort him, but just as I brush his skin, the dream drags itself away. I can't move, but Aang, the trees, the cursed brambles that caught on my pants, even the sky and sea pull backwards to reveal the same creepy hooded figure I met before. The only difference in our meeting now is the nothingness that surrounds us. I'm talking completely empty space. The blackness pushes itself onto my eyes, except for the glowing disk under the person's hood.

"_Your time is running out, young Time bender_," the hooded figure hisses before twisting in on itself and vanishing. It's a strange voice, neither male nor female, but a weird rasping mixture of the two.

Then I awaken to my own screaming.

"Starr, wake up!" Zuko shouts gleefully in my ear. He immediately squeezes me into a huge hug. "You were right, he was never mad, and my uncle forgave me!"

It takes me a second to get oriented, but what he's saying sinks in.

"Zuko that's great!"

"We're going to have a war meeting over breakfast right now, come on!" he bounds away towards Iroh's tent.

I roll my eyes with a smile. For my own breakfast, my backpack (I'm amazed that it's lasted so long without getting lost) provides a steaming travel mug of coffee. Black, no sugar.

"Really? Not even a cappuccino?" I shout into its depths. A single sugar packet appears at the bottom. Can magic links to your own time go bad?


	62. Chapter 62

"Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Father Lord," Zuko says over bowls of steaming mush, which I politely declined in favor of my slightly more appetizing coffee.

"You mean the Fire Lord," Toph corrects.

"That's what I just said," Zuko snaps.

I take a gulp of coffee. "Oh, would you two play nice? It's still morning."

Iroh contemplates his nephew's words.

"We need you to come with us!" Zuko insists.

Iroh sets his bowl down. "No, Zuko, it won't turn out well."

"You can beat him, and we'll be there to help."

"Even if I did defeat Ozai, and I don't know that I could, it would be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord."

"And then…" Zuko speaks to the depths of his oatmeal bowl, "then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?"

"No," says Iroh. "Someone new must take the throne: an idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you prince Zuko."

"Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes!"

"Yes, you have," Iroh admits. "You've struggled, you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."

"I'll try, Uncle," Zuko promises.

It was probably the best thing Iroh could say to Zuko, and the best thing for the Fire Nation. Zuko had changed from the pony-tailed crazy that chased the Avatar far and wide to please his unforgiving father. He is definitely the right choice for the ruler of a quarter of the world's population.

Toph interrupts my thoughts, "Well, what if Aang doesn't come back?"

"Sozin's comet is arriving," Iroh says, "and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. When I was a boy, I had a vision I would one day take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it _back_ from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again."

"That's why you gathered the members of the White Lotus," Suki realizes.

Iroh nods. "Yes. Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation, so that when the Fire Lord falls you can assume the throne and restore peace and order. But Azula will be there waiting for you."

"I can handle Azula," Zuko promises.

"Not alone," Iroh warns. "You'll need help."

I finish my coffee. "And he'll have it. It would be my pleasure to put daddy's little princess in her place." Zuko smiles and gives my hand a squeeze.

"What about us?" Sokka asks. "What's our destiny today?"

Iroh smiles. "What do you think it is?"

Sokka scratches his chin. "I think that even though we don't know where Aang is, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet."

"And that means when Aang does face the Fire Lord," Toph adds, "we'll be right there if he needs us."

Iroh smiles and nods. Everyone breaks up to split for the upcoming battle. Something's nagging at the back of my brain, but I can't quite grasp it. The nagging increased when Sokka said something about not knowing where Aang is, but how could I know the Avatar's location?


	63. Chapter 63

"Nothing runs faster over land or swims quicker than a giant eel hound," Piandao promises Sokka as the girls saddle up on the beast. "The airship base is on a small island just off the Earth Kingdom shore. You should be able to intercept the fleet within a day's journey."

"Thank you, master," Sokka bows to his swordsman, but after a moment squeezes him in a bear hug.

I smile and join Zuko on Appa.

"So, if I'm going to be Fire Lord after the war is over," he says to Iroh, "what are you going to do?"

"After I reconquer Ba Sing Se, I'm going to reconquer my tea shop!" Iroh flips a coin with a lotus flower engraved on it. "And I'm going to play Pai Sho every day."

"Good bye, General Iroh," I call from the saddle.

"And to you, miss Starr," Iroh bows his head. "today destiny is our friend, I know it. You keep my nephew safe!"

I smile. "I haven't failed yet."

With a snap of Appa's reins, we take to the sky, flying straight for the Fire Nation, Azula, and our destinies.


	64. Chapter 64

**Sozin's Comet**

The entire world is on fire. Or it at least looks that way. As Zuko and I soar to the Fire Nation's capital, the comet streaks across the sky, bathing everything in sight in a deep orange glow. I look at Sozin's Comet as long as I can before my eyes start to water; it's so powerful. Zuko and I feel the pull it has on Fire bending. He's already singed some of Appa's fur just by breathing.

"How much longer?" I ask as I bring tiny flames to light on my fingertips.

"About 2 hours…maybe faster." He takes a deep breath, but lets it out carefully. Appa already roared his displeasure at being burned, even a little.

"Zuko, don't worry," I reassure. "We can take Azula."

"I'm not worried about her," Zuko replies. "I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father? What if he loses?"

"Aang won't lose," I say firmly. "He's going to come back…he has to."

I can tell that my words have little effect on Zuko, though. What he says is true: what if Aang is defeated? What would become of the world? I would be safe; the Spirits would take me back. But what about everyone else?


	65. Chapter 65

Suddenly, I feel something in my mind.

"Aang's back," I say. My dream comes back to me—the floating island, Aang talking to Yangchen, all of it.

"How could you possibly know that? He's nowhere in sight," Zuko says.

"I have a connection to the Spirits. I've been having weird dreams, too. He was on an island of some kind, talking to his past lives."

"And the Spirits just told you all of this?" Zuko says in disbelief.

I snort, "Of course not. They never do anything explicitly if they can help it. I've had to figure it out along the way, but it just clicked."

I don't tell him about my other realization, about the hooded figure. I recognize the stranger, though I had never seen her before. It was Metis, the first Time bender, warning me. Now that Aang had found his way back, how much more time do I have with Zuko? Would it be long enough to save him? To fight his sister? Or would I vanish without a trace, leaving the man I love forever?

"We're nearly there," Zuko points to a mountain in the range we're flying over.

I tie my hair into a tight bun to keep it out of my face. "Is that a volcano?"

"A crater, left over by a meteor centuries ago. It's been the capital of the Fire Nation as long as anyone can remember. But it's not usually so empty…"

I flex my hand as I pull on some fingerless gloves from my backpack. "I hope Azula's ready for some payback."

"I hope she's not," Zuko smirks. "It'd be much better to catch her by surprise."

We hear the ceremony taking place as we fly into the crater.

"By decree of Phoenix King Ozai," a man says with a flame crown above his head, "I now crown you Fire Lord…" The man trails off as he catches sight of us.

"What are you waiting for?" Azula shouts. "Do it!"

Appa lets out a mighty roar as he lands in the courtyard where the ceremony is taking place.

"Sorry," Zuko says, not sounding sorry at all. He leaps to the ground. "But you're not going to become Fire Lord today. I am."

Azula laughs. There's something off about her. The last two times I've seen her, her hair was flawless and her clothes clean and proper. Now, her bangs are crooked, her hair is in dreads and her outfit? Well let's just say it would be better suited for vegging in front of a TV rather than a coronation ceremony.

"You're hilarious," Azula cackles.

I leap down to stand by Zuko. "And you're going down."

The man with the flame crown moves to place in Azula's messed up hair, but she stops him. "Wait. You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be: Agni Kai."

I flinch at the maniac gleam in her eye, but Zuko doesn't back down. "You're on."

"What are you doing?" I hiss as he moves to the other side of the yard. "She's playing you! She knows she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us."

"I know," Zuko lays a hand on my shoulder. "But I can take her this time."

"But even you admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula," I plead.

"There's something off about her. I can't explain it, but she's slipping, and this way, no one else has to get hurt." He gives me a kiss full of emotion. Then he faces his sister.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother," Azula says removing her cloak.

"No you're not," Zuko countered.

They stare at each other for a full minute. Then Azula throws the first move.

A wall of blue flame moves toward Zuko, but he easily deflects it with his own orange Fire. The explosion of their two energies meet with a boom, and the resounding explosion leaves my ears ringing. I can't hear anything but my mother's voice from so long ago.

_…a family of time benders…forced to travel back through time…when the Spirits believe your task is done, you will be pulled back to the future…no bending abilities…no memory_

For a moment, I think I'm burned and going crazy. I grip my arm, since that's where the pain is most concentrated. I scream, but nobody seems to hear me.

_…with Time Bending, you can also heal…_

Azula is too focused on her fight, and Zuko doesn't notice. I scream again, and still no one responds.

_…Starr Marie Calaeum, what have you done…?_

I look down at my arm—it's fading, going invisible. I glance at my surroundings and see that they too are disappearing. My mother's voice continues to echo.

_…pulled back to the future…no bending abilities…no memory…_

_…throw it all away for some boy…last of her family in the past…wreak destruction…might as well me your death certificate…you will perish in the past and bring an unstoppable force to the future…_

_…I know of no one who can stop a prophecy of the gods…my own daughter…_

The purple mist that I use when I time bend wraps itself around me, obscuring my vision. Zuko's gone, and I try to cry out, but I can't hear a sound. It's as if my senses have stopped working.

_…you have a great spiritual connection with the Spirit World…you were pulled and pushed through time by their whims…it could be the Spirits telling you something important…_

I twist around, trying to make sense of everything. This can't be happening now! Not when everything is happening!

_…throw it all away for some boy…my own daughter…the spirits will push and pull you as they see fit…you have the power to bend Time itself…_

I close my eyes, trying to block out the pain, to think.

_…pulled back to the future…no bending abilities…no memory…_

I scream again, this time in rage. They can't do this to me!

_…listen to the whispers of the Spirits…they could be telling you something important…_

_All you have to do is trust them, and everything will be released._

Before I even know what I'm doing, I call upon the purple energy of time, ignoring my mother and the scenes whooshing past me. I wrap the energy around myself like a cocoon. The scenes slow down, but I can tell it's because we're getting closer to my present day.

Thoughts start to slip away. Sokka, Katara, Aang, Suki, Appa, and Momo…the names begin to lose all meaning to me. I'm about to let go, to succumb to the inviting darkness waiting for me. Then I see Zuko's face start to fade from my mind.

_…no memory…all you have to do is trust…everything will be released…no memory…_

With newfound energy, I fight what I can't see. I bend the purple mist as I've never bent it before. I force the scenes flashing by to slow and go in reverse. I can feel myself drawing closer to the past, closer to friends that completely understand me…closer to a boy that doesn't exist in New York City.

With one more scream of power, I burst back to Zuko and Azula's battle. I can hear again, and I can feel the cool air become hot with the flames slowly burning the surrounding houses.

While they exchange fire below, I'm floating among the clouds battling the Spirits. They attack in all styles and it takes more strength than I know I should be capable of to fend them off. I shoot bolt after purple bolt of power at them and they eventually slow. No longer do they attack. They flee my strength and power and I'm returned to the ground with a bang—a bang that draws Azula's attention.

"No lightning today?" Zuko taunts. "What's the matter, afraid I'll redirect it?"

I run forward to protect Zuko, to defend the reason I fought to come back.

"Oh, I'll show you lightning!" Azula screams. She grins wickedly and shoots the blast of Lightning at me.

Everything happens in slow motion. Zuko turns to see where she's directing her strike and I see the fear in his eyes. I shake my head to show him that it's okay, I can protect myself. But I'm too late; he throws himself in the line of fire and redirects all of the Lightning towards the sky…almost all of it.

Though the majority races for the clouds, some Lightning wraps itself around Zuko, knocking him to the ground.

"Zuko!" I cry as I race for his unmoving body. But a blast of blue Fire cuts me off.

I turn to glare at Azula. All of my fear and worry becomes rage at the sound of her maniacal laughter.

I throw a jet of purple energy at her, but she Lightning bends it away. She and I lock on each other, neither backing down. I throw Earth, she blocks it; Air she dodges; Fire she manipulates away. Finally, I'm left with Water, my weakest element.

I leap out from behind the pillar I had used for protection and bend an entire pool onto where Azula was standing on the roof. When it drips down, there's nothing there. I hear her battle cry just in time behind me and leap out of the way. Not even knowing if it will work, I try Katara's wave technique. I pull the Water to act as the ocean and I'm able to surf on it away from the crazed princess. With a smile, I realize that I'm really and truly controlling the water. But my victory doesn't last long.

Azula sends a wall of Fire into my wave, knocking me to the ground next to the wall of the courtyard. I look through the grate I landed on, ignoring various aches and pains all over my body. There's a river of water underneath. I look around and see chains hanging on a wall. An idea forms in my mind.

"There you are, filthy peasant," Azula calls from behind me. She steps forward, moving her arms to call upon the flames again. I grit my teeth and wait until she's on top of the grate. Then I send jets of energy at her. Just as she points her hand at me to send lightning, I use all my strength to pull the water up and freeze Time around us.

I liquefy the water around me and with the chain, bind her hands together and attach the links to the grate. I let out the breath I had been holding since I was pulled back to the future and let the water fall. Finally, I'm able to point right at Azula and freeze only her in Time.

I hear a cough and turn my attention to Zuko. As I turn him over, I see the gaping tear in his shirt framing the ugly burn on his chest. I try to remember what Katara said about healing, but I can't grasp it. I wrap my hands in Water, and call upon my purple Time energy.

I focus all my strength on healing the ragged burn on Zuko's chest. The mist seeps through my fingers like when I healed his scar. Slowly, the wound stitches itself together, leaving his skin smooth and unblemished.

Slowly, he opens his eyes. "Thank you, Starr," he whispers weakly.

I feels tears spill over my face. "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."

He gets up slowly, with my help and looks over at the frozen Azula. I release her from being frozen. She struggles with the chains binding her to the grate, but can't escape. I almost feel sorry for her as she screams and cries. Zuko holds me close so I don't have to watch and I sag, tired, into his warm embrace, and promptly pass out.


	66. Chapter 66

"Starr, wake up!"

All of my aches and pains are gone, I feel completely healed and at peace. Except for the bony finger poking my shoulder, that I could do without. I sigh and crack open my eye.

"Grandma?" I sit up way too fast and see spot. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Grandma huffs and straightens. "And you're supposed to be back in New York City with your friends by a pool, no?"

I look around, but can't see anything. We're standing in a white, misty plane, with streaks of purple and silver crisscrossing at random places. Grandma starts walking away, so I scramble up and follow her.

"Grandma, what's going on?"

"You have changed, Starr, and you have brought about change. And for what? To save what was important to you."

"What are you talking about?" Grandma did go a bit senile in her old age.

She only smiles. "I'm talking about you breaking the cycle, child. When the Spirits called you back, you refused. You used all your power to return to Avatar Aang's time, and may I say, you have more power than any other Time bender I've ever seen."

"I thought there was only one Time bender?"

"When you die, you will meet the rest and learn their stories. But now, we walk." She gestured to the stone path under our feet that hadn't been there before.

"What do you mean broke the cycle? And where's mom? She's been the one contacting me."

My grandmother only waves a hand through the pressing white mist, leaving flowers blooming in her wake.

"Your mother has changed, Starr, I believe for the worse," grandma sighs. "Something so shocking and heart-breaking has happened to her that she refused to go on. She's locked herself in a Time before Time benders, so that none of us can contact her…but I believe you can."

"The prophecy," I whisper, horrorstruck. Had I caused my own mother to go insane?

"But let us not worry ourselves with that right now. I'm here to tell you the consequences of your actions today.

"When you were being pulled back to your present day, you unleashed a display of Time bending never before seen. All time benders before you simply accepted their fate, did their duty, and returned to their homes none the wiser. But you were different.

"You developed an anchor to the Time period of the Avatar Aang. It is what allowed you to remain connected to that time, though the Spirits tried to wipe away your memories. Your mind would not release this memory, which lessened the Spirit's hold on you. This, combined with all of your immense raw power is what returned you to Avatar Aang's time."

"Anchor?" I'm confused. When she said anchor, I thought of old pirate movies I used to watch with my dad, before he went completely off the deep end.

Grandma smiles. "can you think of nothing that helped you to connect with the past?"

I think back through the other white mist, the one with scenes of the past flashing by as I felt my memory being erased. Zuko's face springs into my mind, and my grandma smiles again.

"I believe he is your anchor," she says, gesturing to the center of the garden she had been creating as we walked. There, I see two statues. One is of me, the other is Zuko.

"What does an anchor have to do with anything?" I ask. "And how is the cycle broken?"

"No other Time bender before you had an anchor to attach her to the past. You do. This is why you were able to draw yourself back. Because you did not return to your own time, the cycle is broken. Do you see what I'm saying, child?" I nod. "And so, you are the last Time bender, and the prophecy is half complete."

"Wait, so I am the child of the prophecy?" Grandma nods. "So I'm going to destroy the world? I'm going to—"

"—to bring you anchor with you wherever you may travel," Grandma interrupts. "That is how boats sail, correct? They travel with their anchor."

"Great, so now I'm a boat," I grumble.

"It was only a metaphor, dear," my grandmother lays a hand on my shoulder. "You have broken the cycle, and you are the child of the prophecy, but prophecies can be wrong. I don't believe for a minute that you will destroy the world, but perhaps we are interpreting it wrong. You know, the events of most fortunes is only clear after the events have already passed.

"And now I must tell you what is going to happen to the Avatar's link to the Time bender. Since you broke the cycle, you must teach the next Avatars time bending. To do this, the Spirits will pull you back when the Avatar is ready. However, since the cycle is broken, you will decide when you are ready to go back."

I stop. "But, Grandma, won't I die before I can teach all the Avatars?"

"Nonsense, child, how would the Avatar learn Time bending if you were dead? No, you will become immortal, as will your anchor. You can use your bending to age your appearance in the past, but in your present you will age naturally. You will probably be pulled back so much so that your flow of life in your own time will be choppy and difficult to keep track of, but I think you can do it." We've reached the edge of the garden. "Starr, I know you can do this. You must. But I think that if you weren't capable of this, the Spirits wouldn't have given you such power to overcome them."

I give her a hug. "Thank you, Grandma."

"Now, if you don't mind, I do believe there is someone waiting for you in the past," my grandmother stands back to look at me.

She begins to fade away.

"You're so beautiful, it's no wonder you found an anchor."

Wait, she's not fading away, I am. I'm being pulled back to Zuko and my friends.

"Be safe, be well, and be careful! Don't tell too many people of the Time bender, or there will be dire consequences."

It's getting difficult to hear her words. There's so many more questions I have! My mind is spinning so much and she's so faded that I almost miss my Grandma's last words to me.

"But Starr, I know you can do this."


	67. Chapter 67

"Katara, can't you do something?"

"I've done all I can Zuko. I don't think this is a physical thing I can heal."

"Well, maybe I was right all along and she's left us when we needed her the most."

"No! She came back already! I saw it!"

"Well what's your explanation then?"

"You guys are forgetting something."

"What, oh great Avatar, what are we forgetting?"

"The Time bender, like the Avatars, has a deep connection with the Spirit world. Spirit world journey, maybe?"

"Or maybe, she's just gone back to her own time!"

"Sokka, that's ridiculous."

"Yeah, if she had gone back, why would she still be breathing here?"

I can still hear them. They're arguing, but I can still hear my friends. I keep my eyes closed and take a deep breath. Then I look.

Everyone is surrounding me: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Zuko.

"See?" Toph smirks. "She's all right."

"Starr, are you okay?" Zuko swoops down and embraces me in a hug.

I rub my head. "A little achy, but I think I'll live." I look around again. We're on a pillar of rock just outside of Ba Sing Se (I can see it smoking in the distance) and there's a Fire Nation air ship floating right next to us. Everything is dark and I can see the stars. Where's the comet? Why isn't the atmosphere on fire anymore? "Is the comet over?"

"Yeah, you passed out right as it ended," Zuko says.

"And the Fire Lord?" I look at Aang. He looks a little worse for wear—he completely lost his Air bender robes, and his Fire bender's pants were in tatters. Everyone else look similarly.

"He's not going to hurt anyone else anymore." Aang smiles. He gestures for us to follow him. Zuko helps me up and takes most of my weight.

"You should have seen yourself," Sokka tells Aang. "You were amazing! You were all like phew, woo! And the Fire Lord was all like ugh, ack, glug!"

We come upon the Fire Lord, slumped against a rock, completely defeated.

"Did you…you know, finish the job?" I ask.

"I'm still alive," Ozai growls.

"I learned there was another way to defeat him and restore balance," Aang says. "I took his bending away."

Toph whistles. "Wow, who taught you that?"

"A giant lion turtle."

"You have the craziest adventures when you disappear," Katara laughs.

Sokka hobbles over to Ozai, favoring one leg. I see that the other one is bandaged. "Well, look at you, buster," he taunts. "Now that your Fire bending is gone, I guess we should call you the Loser Lord."

"I am the Phoenix King," Ozai says, trying to hold onto his title. It doesn't last, though. He falls to the ground in a heap and promptly begins drooling.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to offend you," Toph says. "Phoenix King of Getting His Butt Whooped!"

"Yeah," Suki catches on to the spirit. "Or how about King of the…Guys who don't win?"

"Leave the nicknames to us, honey," Toph says.


	68. Chapter 68

**Epilogue: Avatar Aang and the Last Time Bender**

"You need some help with that?"

Zuko turns around and smiles. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

I walk over and pull his new Fire Lord robe over his left arm. My bending healed a lot on the surface, but he's still sore.

"I've never felt better in my life."

"I still can't believe you get to stay here with us."

"When you're the most powerful Time bender in history, you get some perks," I say.

"This anchor thing though…" Zuko trails off and looks out the window to the crowd in the courtyard.

"Hey," I turn him around to face me. "We'll get through it. Just like we got through the Boiling Rock and Sozin's Comet. Together."


	69. Chapter 69

"Dad!"

"Dad!"

Katara and Sokka run up to Hakota and squeeze him in a suffocating hug.

"I heard what you two did," Hakota says. "I am the proudest father in the world."

I turn away from their reunion and walk alone through the garden. My face is wet with tears. What would my father say if he knew what I could do? Would he even be sane enough to comprehend it?

And what of my mother? Grandma said she pretty much went crazy and cut Time benders out of her life completely. What would she say if she knew…?


	70. Chapter 70

"There are my favorite Kyoshi warriors!" Sokka exclaims. "I have to admit, I kind of miss the face paint. So how does it feel to be back in uniform again?"

A girl pushes through to the front. "It feels great!"

Sokka's eyes bug out. He zooms over to stand between Ty Lee and Suki. He waves his crutch at Ty Lee.

"Careful, Suki!" he yells. "Ty Lee's pretending to be a Kyoshi Warrior again."

"It's okay," Suki calms her boyfriend. "She's one of us now."

Sokka's eyes bug out again and he yelps in shock.

"Yeah, the girls and I really bonded in prison," Ty Lee says. "After a few chi blocking lessons, they said I could join their group! We're going to be best friends forever!"

"Shh! It's starting!" someone shouts. Everyone turns to the palace and cheers as Zuko walks out.

"Please," Zuko holds up his hand to halt the applause. "The real hero is the Avatar."

Aang walks out and stands next to Zuko to even louder cheers and cries. I even see Sokka tearing up on Suki's shoulder.

"Today, this war is finally over," Zuko announces over the crowd. "I promised my uncle I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided, but with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace."

He kneels down and the Fire sage presents the flame crown that just a week ago he was going to give to Azula.

"All hail Fire Lord Zuko!" he declares as he settles the crown over my boyfriend's head.

The crowd is tumultuous. If someone had been standing in the palace, they must've been thinking a bomb had gone off for all the noise. I'm pretty sure I'm cheering most of all. The Water benders in the crowd raise fountains, and I join the Fire benders in setting off fireworks.

Someone nudges my side, and I see Katara holding out a hand. Next to her, I see Sokka, Suki, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai, and even more people I've met over the last week since the comet. I take Katara's outstretched peace offering and cheer louder than I ever had before.


	71. Chapter 71

After most everything has calmed down, we take a trip to Aang's house in Ba Sing Se. Iroh plays a strange instrument similar to a tuba, Zuko serves us tea, Suki faces Katara in Pai Sho, and Toph just relaxes.

"Zuko, stop moving!" Sokka exclaims. "I'm trying to capture the moment. I wanted to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together."

"That's very thoughtful of you Sokka," Katara wanders over. "Wait, why did you give me Momo's ears?"

"Those are your hair loopies!"

Everyone else gathers around him.

"At least you don't look like a boar-q-pine," Zuko comments. "My hair is not that spiky!"

"I look like a man," I complain.

"And why did you paint me Fire bending?"

"I thought it looked more exciting that way, Suki."

Momo joins us on the table and chitters at the sight of the painting.

"Oh, you think you can do a better job, Momo?" Sokka counters.

Iroh puts down his tuba and throws in his two cents. "Hey, my belly's not that big anymore. I really trimmed down!"

Toph gives her signature smirk and throws her arms in the air. "Well I think you all look perfect!"


	72. The End

**Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any characters, dialogue, or plot (with the sole exception of the character Starr and the ability to Time bend). Characters, dialogue, and plot are all credited to Mike and Bryan, creators of ****_Avatar: The Last Airbender_****.**

**Let's be real, this stuff is way to cool for me to come up with. :)**

Special thanks to all who read and stuck with Starr until the end! If any loose ends remain, feel free to review/message me about them. I'm only human, and I'm bound to have made some mistakes :)

Ta-ta for now!

~SmashTrix


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